POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY FOR CLINICAL USE

THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPH THAT, DUE TO ITS SIMPLE DESIGN, WILL BE GEARED TO ROUTINE CLINICAL APPLICATION UNLIKE TODAY'S RESEARCH- ORIENTED POSITRON TOMOGRAPHS. POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE USEFUL IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF NEUROLOGICALDISEASES SUCH AS ALZHEIMER'S. THE PROPOSED DESIGN EMPLOYS POSITION-SENSITIVE DETECTORS CONSISTING OF NAI (T1) SCINTILLATORS COUPLED TO PHOTOMULTIPLIERS. IT WILL HAVE A SPATIAL RESOLUTION OF 5MM FWHM IN ALL THREE DIRECTIONS, WITHA SPATIAL SAMPLING FREQUENCY OF TWICE THE RESOLUTION, THEREBY ALLOWING RESLICING OF THE OBJECT IN ANY ARBITRARY PLANE. TO HANDLE THE LARGE AMOUNT OF INCOMING DATA, SPECIAL-PURPOSE PROCESSORS WILL BE DESIGNED, BUILT, AND TESTED IN PHASE I. THE PROPOSED SYSTEM WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS EXPENSIVE THAN SYSTEMS CURRENTLY ON THE MARKET AND WILL HELP TO MOVE POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY FROM THE RESEARCH PHASE TO ROUTINE CLINICAL APPLICATION.