Probabilities of triggering and validation in a digital silicon photomultiplier

Tabacchini, Valerio; Westerwoudt, Victor; Borghi, G.; Seifert, Stefan; Schaart, Dennis R.

doi:10.1088/1748-0221/9/06/p06016

Cited by 41 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This was done to achieve the best time resolution as well as be able to record events from the stop-SPAD. The validation scheme for the whole DPC array was set to 4 (corresponding to a statistical validation threshold of about 17 fired SPADs) in order to reduce the amount of recorded data, see Tabacchini et al (2014). Since events on the stop-SPAD could not be validated with this validation scheme, neighbor logic was used instead.…”

Section: Rise Timementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The integration interval for detecting photons following the validation was chosen to be 1285 ns (∼4 × the decay time of BGO). A detailed description about the trigger and validation functionality and theory can be found in Frach et al (2010), Tabacchini et al (2014) and Schulze (2015). The influence of the DCR and light yield on the time resolution was investigated by repeating the measurements at different temperatures, viz.…”

Section: Coincidence Timingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

BGO as a hybrid scintillator / Cherenkov radiator for cost-effective time-of-flight PET

2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Due to detector developments in the last decade, the time-of-flight (TOF) method is now commonly used to improve the quality of positron emission tomography (PET) images. Clinical TOF-PET systems based on L(Y)SO:Ce crystals and silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) with coincidence resolving times (CRT) between 325 ps and 400 ps FWHM have recently been developed. Before the introduction of L(Y)SO:Ce, BGO was used in many PET systems. In addition to a lower price, BGO offers a superior attenuation coefficient and a higher photoelectric fraction than L(Y)SO:Ce. However, BGO is generally considered an inferior TOF-PET scintillator. In recent years, TOF-PET detectors based on the Cherenkov effect have been proposed. However, the low Cherenkov photon yield in the order of ∼10 photons per event complicates energy discrimination-a severe disadvantage in clinical PET. The optical characteristics of BGO, in particular its high transparency down to 310 nm and its high refractive index of ∼2.15, are expected to make it a good Cherenkov radiator. Here, we study the feasibility of combining event timing based on Cherenkov emission with energy discrimination based on scintillation in BGO, as a potential approach towards a cost-effective TOF-PET detector. Rise time measurements were performed using a timecorrelated single photon counting (TCSPC) setup implemented on a digital photon counter (DPC) array, revealing a prompt luminescent component likely to be due to Cherenkov emission. Coincidence timing measurements were performed using BGO crystals with a cross-section of 3 mm × 3 mm and five different lengths between 3 mm and 20 mm, coupled to DPC arrays. NonGaussian coincidence spectra with a FWHM of 200 ps were obtained with the 27 mm 3 BGO cubes, while FWHM values as good as 330 ps were achieved Institute of Physics and Engineering in MedicineOriginal content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. with the 20 mm long crystals. The FWHM value was found to improve with decreasing temperature, while the FWTM value showed the opposite trend.

show abstract

Section: Rise Timementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Coincidence Timingmentioning

confidence: 99%

BGO as a hybrid scintillator / Cherenkov radiator for cost-effective time-of-flight PET

2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It also plays a large role in determining the timing resolution. Some groups have developed sophisticated models of the photodetector pulse response (Seifert et al , 2012; Tabacchini et al , 2014), but not integrated in simulation packages and only considering the photodetector triggering and charge conversion processes without taken into account optical coupling. This creates an additional source of uncertainty in optical simulations.…”

Section: Next Generation Simulatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling the transport of optical photons in scintillation detectors for diagnostic and radiotherapy imaging

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Computational modelling of radiation transport can enhance the understanding of the relative importance of individual processes involved in imaging systems. Modelling is a powerful tool for improving detector designs in ways that are impractical or impossible to achieve through experimental measurements. Modelling of light transport in scintillation detectors used in radiology and radiotherapy imaging that rely on the detection of visible light plays an increasingly important role in detector design. Historically, researchers have invested heavily in modelling the transport of ionizing radiation while light transport is often ignored or coarsely modelled. Due to the complexity of existing light transport simulation tools and the breadth of custom codes developed by users, light transport studies are seldom fully exploited and have not reached their full potential. This topical review aims at providing an overview of the methods employed in freely available and other described optical Monte Carlo packages and analytical models and discussing their respective advantages and limitations. In particular, applications of optical transport modelling in nuclear medicine, diagnostic and radiotherapy imaging are described. A discussion on the evolution of these modelling tools into future developments and applications is presented.

show abstract

“…The necessary calibration steps and chosen parameters depend on the optimization goal (e.g., highest sensitivity vs. highest possible activity). Throughout this paper, conservative settings were used: 20 % of the cells were deactivated, 0° C or 5° C liquid cooling temperature, 2.5 V SiPM cell overvoltage, trigger scheme 3, validation network 0x54 or 0x55 [45].…”

Section: ) Control and Calibrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Digital Preclinical PET/MRI Insert and Initial Results

Weissler

Gebhardt

Dueppenbecker

et al. 2015

IEEE Trans. Med. Imaging

100

111

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Combining Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) results in a promising hybrid molecular imaging modality as it unifies the high sensitivity of PET for molecular and cellular processes with the functional and anatomical information from MRI. Digital Silicon Photomultipliers (dSiPMs) are the digital evolution in scintillation light detector technology and promise high PET SNR. DSiPMs from Philips Digital Photon Counting (PDPC) were used to develop a preclinical PET/RF gantry with 1-mm scintillation crystal pitch as an insert for clinical MRI scanners. With three exchangeable RF coils, the hybrid field of view has a maximum size of 160 mm × 96.6 mm (transaxial × axial). 0.1 ppm volume-root-mean-square B 0-homogeneity is kept within a spherical diameter of 96 mm (automatic volume shimming). Depending on the coil, MRI SNR is decreased by 13% or 5% by the PET system. PET count rates, energy resolution of 12.6% FWHM, and spatial resolution of 0.73 mm (3) (isometric volume resolution at isocenter) are not affected by applied MRI sequences. PET time resolution of 565 ps (FWHM) degraded by 6 ps during an EPI sequence. Timing-optimized settings yielded 260 ps time resolution. PET and MR images of a hot-rod phantom show no visible differences when the other modality was in operation and both resolve 0.8-mm rods. Versatility of the insert is shown by successfully combining multi-nuclei MRI ((1)H/(19)F) with simultaneously measured PET ((18)F-FDG). A longitudinal study of a tumor-bearing mouse verifies the operability, stability, and in vivo capabilities of the system. Cardiac- and respiratory-gated PET/MRI motion-capturing (CINE) images of the mouse heart demonstrate the advantage of simultaneous acquisition for temporal and spatial image registration.

show abstract

Probabilities of triggering and validation in a digital silicon photomultiplier

Cited by 41 publications

References 10 publications

BGO as a hybrid scintillator / Cherenkov radiator for cost-effective time-of-flight PET

BGO as a hybrid scintillator / Cherenkov radiator for cost-effective time-of-flight PET

Modelling the transport of optical photons in scintillation detectors for diagnostic and radiotherapy imaging

A Digital Preclinical PET/MRI Insert and Initial Results

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About