FY2024 SBIR CONCEPT AWARD: "THE FRUGAL TILE: HIGH-PERFORMANCE DETECTOR FOR THE PICOSECOND FRONTIER"

Positron emission tomography (PET), a sensitive functional imaging technique, holds potential for diagnosing and monitoring medical conditions. Its use in pediatric oncology is hindered by the high radiation dose required, posing risks to children. This proposal addresses this unmet need in pediatric cancer with an innovative, high-performance gamma-ray detection system. Our novel system focuses on pediatric and rare cancers with poor survival rates (lt50%). By significantly reducing radiation exposure (anticipated rt100 times less than current), our system aims to enhance detection accuracy for leading pediatric cancers: lymphomas, brain tumors, sarcomas, neuroblastoma, Wilms’ tumor, germ cell tumors, and neurofibromatosis. The funding from this program will be used to identify and optimize the most viable substrate technologies for an advanced TOF-PET detector. This endeavor comprises individual design / development, procurement, evaluation, and optimization of each component, followed by limited testing using a de-mountable test stand developed during this program in partnership with SWRI. Collaboration with SCHOTT glass on the laser structured MCP work and LMCP development will be the primary focus.