A NEW HIGH Z, EXTREMELY FAST SCINTILLATOR FOR PET

POSITRON EMMISSION TOMOGRAPHY (PET) IS ONE OF THE MOST PROMISING TECHNOLOGIES FOR DETAILED IMAGING OF ORGAN STRUCTURE AND DYNAMIC BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES IN THE BODY. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS DETERMINING THE PERFORMANCE CAPABILITIES OF PET SYSTEMS IS THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RADIATION DETECTORS USED. IMAGE RESOLUTION IN CURRENT PET CAMERAS IS RESTRICTED BY THE INHERENT LONG COINCIDENCE WINDOW AND LOW LIGHT OUTPUT OF BGO. WE HAVE RECENTLY DEVELOPED A NOVEL SCINTILLATING MATERIAL BASED ON A NEW POLYMER THAT HAS GREAT PROMISE FOR USE AS A GAMMA RAY DETECTOR FOR PET. ITS SUB-NANOSECOND DECAY TIME, FACTOR OF 5 INCREASE IN LIGHT OUTPUT OVER BGO, AND POTENTIAL FOR HIGH STOPPING POWER OFFERS THE PROMISE OF A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN IMAGE QUALITY IF USED WITH CURRENT PET TECHNOLOGY. SUCH ADVANCED DETECTOR PERFORMANCE WOULD ALSO PROVIDE A FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE PET SYSTEMS EMPLOYING TOF ANALYSIS. TPL WILL DO THE RESEARCH NECESSARY TO DEVELOP AN EXTREMELY FAST, HIGH STOPPING POWER SCINTILLATOR FOR APPLICATION IN PET. THIS NEW DETECTOR WILL ALLOW IMPROVED PERFORMANCE AS REDUCED DETECTOR COST. IF SUCCESSFUL, THE PROGRAM WILL LEAD TO A SIGNIFICANT NEW SCINTILLATOR FOR USE IN MEDICINE, RESEARCH, AND INDUSTRY.