High performance detector head for PET and PET/MR with continuous crystals and SiPMs

International audience; A high resolution PET detector head for small animal PET applications has been developed. The detector is composed of a 12 mm x 12 mm source continuous LYSO crystal coupled to a 64-channel monolithic SiPM matrix from FBK-irst. Crystal thicknesses of 5 mm and 10 mm have been tested, both yielding an intrinsic spatial resolution around 0.7 mm FWHM with a position determination algorithm that can also provide depth-of-interaction information. The detectors have been tested in a rotating system that makes it possible to acquire tomographic data and reconstruct images of 22Na sources. An image reconstruction method specifically adapted for continuous crystals has been emp…