基于SOM神经网络和均值漂移算法的DOI-PET探测器泛场图像晶体识别

正电子发射断层扫描(PET)是一种功能性核医学成像设备,已广泛应用于临床检验和临床前研究。其核心探测器主要采用闪烁晶体阵列耦合光电器件阵列的模块化设计。该类型探测器需要对其泛场图像进行分割,制作晶体位置查找表。本文开发了一种针对双层错位的DOI-PET探测器的泛场图像晶体响应中心自动识别和分割算法。基于奇异值分解和均值漂移的算法实现顶层晶体中心的识别;基于自组织映射(SOM)神经网络的算法和均值漂移实现底层晶体中心的识别;采用基于欧氏距离的算法,实现了泛场图像晶体单元的分割。将本文所开发的算法用于整环(48张)PET泛场图像,晶体模块中心识别的准确率为99.34%,完成分割整张泛场图像的平均耗时为101 s。测试结果表明,本文所开发的泛场图像晶体响应中心自动识别和分割算法适用于双层错位的DOI-PET探测器,算法鲁棒性强、准确率高、运算速度快。     

PET复合晶体甄别电子学及算法设计

设计并实现了一种高分辨率复合晶体探测器和电子学,并提出一种系统辨识的算法。复合晶体探测由LYSO(Lu2-xYxSiO5)和YSO(Y2SiO5)两种晶体交错排列而成,目的在于提高晶格的定位能力,改善空间分辨率。由甄别电路完成对PMT(photomultiplier tube)原始信号的处理,使用了高速ADC对信号连续采样,由FPGA完成波形采集,并能够完成实时基线恢复。甄别算法是分析了探测器响应和电子学采集模型之后提出的,是一种系统辨识算法。晶体甄别是基于提取与信号的衰减时间常数相关量来完成的。对LYSO和YSO的单晶体条实验,其甄别率超过98%;并绘制了甄别后两种晶体的二维直方图(2Dmap),有效地减少晶格间交叠,提高了空间分辨率。     

晶体表面特性对PET探测器性能的影响

<正>电子发射断层成像(Positron Emission Tomography,PET)作为最灵敏和具有定量测量能力的功能分子影像技术,越来越广泛地应用于生物医学研究,如疾病的动物模型、新药物的研发和新治疗方法的评估等。提高探测器的性能是改进PET仪器性能的关键,PET探测器通常由分割的闪烁晶体阵列和光探测器组成,文中使用位置灵敏光电倍增管和不同晶体表面特性的硅酸钇镥((Lu,Y)2Si O5,LYSO)晶体阵列,对新型的双端读出三维PET探测器和传统的单端读出二维PET探测器的性能进行了测量。实验结果表明,对于双端读出PET探测器,两种晶体阵列提供相近的晶体分辨图和能量分辨率,但非抛光晶体阵列提供好的深度分辨率,双端读出PET探测器需要使用表面不抛光的晶体阵列;对单端读出PET探测器,抛光晶体阵列提供好的晶体分布图和能量分辨率,单端读出PET探测器需要使用表面抛光的晶体阵列。     

乳腺影像学专用PET探测器模块设计

为进一步提升乳腺影像学专用PET系统的空间位置分辨率,基于LYSO晶体与位置灵敏光电倍增管耦合,设计了一种专用LYSO-PET探测器模块。探测模块由12×12根1.5 mm×1.5 mm×10 mm LYSO晶体条阵列与PS-PMT耦合组成,通过PXI 8501采集系统,获取入射粒子的2D泛场图像、能量信息及位置信息。该探测模块平均位置分辨率可达0.22 mm(本征)和0.55 mm(²²Na探测条件下);平均能量分辨率为22.4%(²²Na探测条件下)。双探头PET系统FOV中心²²Na点源轴向空间分辨率可达1.13 mm。探测器模块已基本满足位置分辨率要求,为实现亚毫米乳腺影像学专用PET系统提供了硬件支持。     

基于连续晶体PET探测器模块电子学设计

和传统的基于分割晶体PET探测器相比,基于连续晶体的PET探测器具有设计结构简单、能量分辨率高、探测器效率高以及低造价等优点,近年来得到广泛的研究。基于连续晶体PET探测器的最大难点是要用探测器获得闪烁光分布,进而通过作用点定位算法计算γ光子的作用位置。探测器模块电子学需要读出和获取闪烁光的分布,因而电子学变得相对复杂。论文针对自行建立的基于连续LYSO晶体和神经网络定位算法的PET探测器模块的信号读出和数据获取的要求,设计和实现了64通道数据读出和获取电子学系统。该系统采用8片8通道、50 Mbps、串行输出、12 bit ADC对每个通道进行数字化,从海量的核事例中遴选出有效的核事例,在FPGA内实现数据打包、定时符合、基线恢复等功能。经过测试,电路各通道噪声低,增益一致性好。整个电子学系统结构紧凑、性能优良,适合基于连续晶体PET探测器的相关实验研究和应用研究。     

光导厚度对基于高分辨率LYSO和SiPM阵列PET探测器性能的影响

正电子发射计算机断层显像(Positron Emission Tomography,PET)是一种高灵敏和具有定量测量能力的分子影像方法,PET探测器通常由高探测效率的晶体阵列和位置灵敏或阵列光探测器组成,PET探测器的位置分辨率主要由晶体单元的大小和晶体分辨图的质量决定。使用现有小动物PET探测器常用的硅酸钇镥(Lutetium-yttrium Oyorthosilicate,LYSO)晶体阵列和硅光电倍增管(Silicon Photomultipliers,Si PM)阵列,系统地研究了晶体阵列和Si PM阵列之间光导的厚度对探测器晶体分辨图和能谱的影响。所使用的晶体阵列为12×12,单个晶体尺寸为0.89 mm×0.89 mm×10 mm,Si PM为日本滨松的4×4阵列,单元大小为3 mm×3 mm,间距为3.2 mm,光导使用厚度为0.5 mm、1.0 mm、1.5 mm、2.0 mm和2.5 mm的有机玻璃。实验结果表明:晶体分辨图的均匀性和对边缘晶体的分辨能力随着光导厚度的增加而改善,但随着光导厚度的增加,晶体分辨图中每个晶体单元的斑点大小增加,整个晶体分辨图的动态范围缩小。光导的使用几乎不改变晶体能谱的全能峰峰位和能量分辨率。综合以上因素,确定最佳的光导厚度为1.5 mm,本结果可对使用晶体截面约为1 mm×1 mm的晶体阵列和单元大小为3 mm×3 mm的Si PM阵列研发小动物PET探测器提供重要参考作用。     

基于禁忌搜索的晶体位置谱分割与校准方法

为满足不同规格晶体探测器对分割校准晶体条响应事件位置数据的需求，开发了一种以禁忌搜索算法为核心，结合UDP数据帧、二维高斯模型及光导折射率的位置信息分割校准方法。实验结果表明，本方法在溢出率为5%时，峰谷比可达1218，空间分辨率达17 mm，晶体条响应位置识别准确度高达99%，滤除了引发伪峰的噪声，避免了过分割问题。在面对多种规格晶体阵列的位置谱时，本方法能依照阵列规格将晶体条区域的响应自动校准编号并输出晶体位置查找表，实现响应事件的精确校准。     

TOF-PET探测器定时性能初步研究

本工作采用LYSO晶体阵列和平板型位置灵敏光电倍增管H8500对TOF-PET探测器进行了初步设计,能分辨3.2mm×3.2mm的晶体阵列。与BaF₂探测器组成时间谱仪,测量正电子湮没射线的瞬发时间谱,得到379ps的符合时间分辨率。根据已测量的BaF₂探测器时间分辨率（159ps）,可计算得到所设计的TOF-PET探测器时间分辨率为344ps。预计与此相同的两个TOF-PET探测器对正电子湮没射线的符合时间分辨率可达486ps左右,为新型PET的研究提供了有利条件。     

新型晶体阵列探测器在MicroPET中的应用

PET因为采用了符合探测的原理,所以可得到高分辨率的图像。将这项技术应用于小动物的各项研究之中,就开发出了MicroPET系统。MicroPET在生物学、医学和药学等方面具有重大的意义。简述了MicroPET的研究意义和发展历史,并以加州大学洛杉矶分校研制的MicroPET样机为例,介绍了MicroPET及其新型晶体阵列探测器的结构、原理和发展方向。     

基于FPGA的PET晶体位置映射图数据采集的算法研究

PET晶体位置映射图数据采集是PET数据采集和图像重建系统的重要组成部分。采用Xilinx公司推出的快速可编程门阵列(FPGA)开发环境System Generator for DSP系统设计工具进行平板PET晶体位置映射图数据采集的算法研究;在Lyrtech VHS-ADC开发平台上进行软硬件协同仿真与验证,在开发设计上可大幅度地缩短开发周期,节约成本。实验结果:PET晶体位置映射图白色散点清晰,易于分割,满足PET数据采集系统的要求。     

Detector Identification with Four BGO Crystals on a Dual PMT

The current trend towards higher resolution positron emission tomography (PET) requires the development of small but efficient detectors. This paper presents the initial characterization of a detector composed of four equally spaced, 4.5mm wide bismuth germanate (BGO) crystals coupled to the face of a Hamamatsu R1548 dual photomultiplier tube (PMT). The intrinsic optical cross talk between the two segments of the dual PMT exhibits a spatial dependence that has been exploited for crystal identification. Misidentification of crystals due to the combined effects of compton scattering of gamma rays between crystals, crystal penetration of gamma rays, and the imperfection of the optical cross talk identification scheme has been studied under various conditions. The detector pair spatial resolution on axis was measured to be 2.9mm full width at half maximum (FWHM), and the intrinsic peak efficiency was found to be higher than that of the larger detectors currently in use in the Montreal Neurological Institute's (MNI) Positome III camera.     

基于沿单层LYSO晶体阵列深度多层反射膜分布的深度编码PET探测器研究

本文提出了在单层LYSO晶体阵列中,采用沿晶体深度布局多层反射膜,并通过SiPM阵列单端读出,从而进行深度测量的PET探测器方法。制作了2个晶体大小为3 mm×3 mm×20 mm的2×2 LYSO晶体阵列,分别布局2层和4层反射膜,对该探测器性能的实验测量结果表明,此探测器可清楚区分所有晶体单元。对于布局2层反射膜的探测器,上下两层事件平均正确指定的概率为85.1%,4个不同深度事件的平均正确指定概率为65.5%;对于布局4层反射膜的探测器,4个不同深度事件的平均正确指定概率为74.8%。布局4层反射膜的探测器的深度分辨率优于布局2层反射膜的探测器。两个探测器的平均能量分辨率分别为18.0%和12.2%。这种可分辨γ射线与晶体作用点深度的新型PET探测器,可用于今后研发高性能脑专用、全身和全景PET成像系统。     

Preliminary Studies on Mercuric Iodide Soft-Gamma-Ray Detector

Tetragonal mercuric iodide single crystals were grown and applied to the fabrication of soft-gamma-ray detectors with high detection efficiencies and moderate energy resolutions. The studies included: 1) the dependency of single crystals grown by various techniques such as solution growth including recrystallization of the vapor transport grown crystal, vapor transport growth and temperature oscillation growth techniques on detector characteristics, 2) polarization effects, 3) electrical contacts problem, 4) fast-neutron-induced radiation damage and 5) linearity between pulse heights and energies. The detectors with various thicknesses from approximately 50 to 1000 microns were applied to the X-ray fluorescence analysis proved to be a very promising tool in this field for the linearity calibration and charge collection efficiencies examination of the detector of various thicknesses.     

全覆盖型动物PET系统探测器灵敏度的研究

为了提高动物PET系统探测器的灵敏度,增加探测器几何立体角的覆盖比例。在原有的Mi-cro PET系统环形探测器两端,对称添加两块中间有孔的平板探测器构成了紧密型动物PET系统。研究紧密型动物PET系统灵敏度的方法为:基于Gate程序建立系统模型,在点源、面源和体源三种类型的放射源条件下进行Monte Carlo模拟。模拟结果表明:物理结构上的改进有效地提高了探测器灵敏度,使符合事件数为传统的Micro PET的4.48倍;同时点源和面源的模拟结果说明,紧密型探测器结构使得整个探测区域空间均匀性变好,有利于数据采集和图像重建;而平板探测器中间的孔削弱了对探测器灵敏度的改善,尤其是对于放置在探测区域边缘的放射源。应用该全覆盖型结构有望进一步提高PET系统的探测灵敏度并有助于提高图像质量。     

晶体表面处理对用于PET的一种深度检出型探测器的时间响应特性的影响

晶体的不同的表面处理影响着总的光输出量,进而影响有它们构成的PET探测器的性能。为了优化设计一个新提出的深度检出型探测器,比较研究了不同表面情况的LSO晶体组成的该探测器的光输出量和时间分辨率特性。     

Development of a compact DOI-TOF detector module for high-performance PET systems

To increase spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio in PET imaging,we present in this paper the design and performance evaluation of a PET detector module combining both depth-of-interaction(DOI) and time-offlight(TOF) capabilities.The detector module consists of a staggered dual-layer LYSO block with2 mm × 2 mm × 7 mm crystals.MR-compatible SiPM sensors(MicroFJ-30035-TSV,SensL) are assembled into an 8× 8 array.SiPM signals from both fast and slow outputs are read out by a 128-channel ASIC chip.To test its performance,a flood histogram is acquired with a ~(22)Na point source on top of the detector,and the energy resolution and the coincidence resolving time(CRT) value for each individual crystal are measured.The flood histogram shows excellent crystal separation in both layers.The average energy resolution at 511 keV is 14.0 and 12.7%at the bottom and top layers,respectively.The average CRT of a single crystal is 635 and 565 ps at the bottom and top layers,respectively.In conclusion,the compact DOI-TOF PET detector module is of excellent crystal identification capability,good energy resolution and reasonable time resolution and has promising application prospective in clinical TOF PET,PET/MRI,and brain PET systems.     

Study of PET Detector Performance with Varying SiPM Parameters and Readout Schemes

The spatial resolution performance characteristics of a monolithic crystal PET detector utilizing a sensor on the entrance surface (SES) design is reported. To facilitate this design, we propose to utilize a 2D silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) array device. Using a multi-step simulation process, we investigated the performance of a monolithic crystal PET detector with different data readout schemes and different SiPM parameters. The detector simulated was a 49.2mm by 49.2mm by 15mm LYSO crystal readout by a 12 by 12 array of 3.8mm by 3.8mm SiPM elements. A statistics based positioning (SBP) method was used for event positioning and depth of interaction (DOI) decoding. Although individual channel readout provided better spatial resolution, row-column summing is proposed to reduce the number of readout channels. The SiPM parameters investigated include photon detection efficiency (PDE) and gain variability between different channels; PDE and gain instability; and dark count noise. Of the variables investigated, the PDE shift of -3.2±0.7% and gain shift of -4±0.9% between detector testing and detector calibration had the most obvious impact on the detector performance, since it not only degraded the spatial resolution but also led to bias in positioning, especially at the edges of the crystal. The dark count noise also had an impact on the intrinsic spatial resolution. No data normalization is required for PDE variability of up to 12% FWHM and gain variability of up to 15% FWHM between SiPM channels. Based upon these results, a row-column summing readout scheme without data normalization will be used. Further, we plan to cool our detectors below room temperature to reduce dark count noise and to actively control the temperature of the SiPMs to reduce drifts in PDE and gain.     

Automatic self-correcting calibration method for arterial bloodsampling detectors used in PET imaging

Routine calibration of on-line arterial blood detectors used primarily for PET blood flow studies while necessary is time consuming and if performed frequently, exposes staff to unnecessary levels of radiation. A method has been developed and implemented to account for changes in detector sensitivity over time and for variations in the diameters of tubes used to withdraw blood. The method is most applicable to positron detectors but can also be used for gamma systems. Errors are reduced from +/-5% to less than 1%