Development of 3-D detector system for positron CT

A detector composed of a bundle of BGO (bismuth germanate) pillars and position-sensitive photomultiplier tubes is proposed. This detector has the ability to provide 3-D position information on gamma -ray absorption in the scintillator. It is expected that the use of this detector for positron-emission tomography (PET) will result in high spatial resolution and sensitivity. In particular, uniform and high spatial resolution over the entire field of view can be obtained because of the detector´s ability to detect the depth of interaction of the gamma -rays in the scintillator. The fundamental characteristics were investigated by both experiment and simulation, and the results are discussed.<>