A list-mode time stamping data acquisition module prototype for coincidence measurements

A list-mode data acquisition system for use with the energy-subtraction Compton scatter camera (ESCSC) has been developed for medical imaging and other applications in which list mode data acquisition with time stamping is necessary. The list-mode approach is more costly and time intensive than hardwired coincidence approaches, but due to scalability is more practical when there are many coincidence detectors, as there are for potential ESCSC implementations. The list-mode data acquisition system was developed using commercially available components and will be used in a list-mode ESCSC “proof-of-principle” prototype. The results obtained with the prototype and a pair of NaI(Tl) detectors are promising and are comparable to hardware-coincidence solutions. The time resolution of 6 ns has been achieved using time stamp acquisition from a pair of NaI(Tl) scintillation detectors. The coincidence spectrum of ²²Na is obtained using solely the list-mode techniques to prove the method´s applicability and equivalence to the conventional hardwired approach