Investigation of the physical aspects of beta imaging probes using scintillating fibers and visible light photon counters

Author

MacDonald, L.R. ; Tornai, M.P. ; Levin, C.S. ; Park, J. ; Atac, M. ; Cline, D.B. ; Hoffman, E.J.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Phys., California Univ., Los Angeles, CA, USA

Volume

42

Issue

4

fYear

1995

fDate

8/1/1995 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1351

Lastpage

1357

Abstract

We are developing a hand-held imaging probe intended for intra-operative use. This probe is to be used after the bulk of a tumor has been removed. It will locate residual malignant tissue labeled by a pre-operative injection of a tumor-seeking radiopharmaceutical. The device presented here is a prototype system that consists of a 4×8 array of 925 μm diameter plastic scintillating fibers. The imaging array is coupled to Visible Light Photon Counters (VLPCs) via 2 meters of optical fiber. We have obtained an intrinsic spatial resolution of <1.0 mm with a highly collimated beta source, and a 2.0 mm resolution with a 1 mm, uncollimated source. Standard deviations of the relative gain and sensitivity over the 32 imaging elements were found to be 9.6% and 11.7% of the mean, respectively

Keywords

biomedical imaging; gamma-ray detection; position sensitive particle detectors; solid scintillation detectors; 1 mm; 2 m; 2 mm; 925 mum; VLPCs; beta imaging probes; hand-held imaging probe; highly collimated beta source; imaging array; intra-operative use; intrinsic spatial resolution; optical fiber; plastic scintillating fibers; pre-operative injection; relative gain; residual malignant tissue location; scintillating fibers; tumor bulk; tumor-seeking radiopharmaceutical; visible light photon counters; Cancer; High-resolution imaging; Neoplasms; Optical arrays; Optical fiber devices; Optical imaging; Plastics; Probes; Prototypes; Spatial resolution;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Nuclear Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9499

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/23.467855

Filename

467855