6533b852fe1ef96bd12aa2f8

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Time of flight measurements based on FPGA using a breast dedicated PET

Raimundo Garcia-olcinaAlbert AguilarJose M. BenllochJ. SoretAntonio GonzálezFilomeno SanchezJose TorresJulio Martos

subject

PhotomultiplierImage qualityComputer scienceInstrumentation and methods for time-of-flight (TOF) spectroscopyLinearityTrigger detectorsCoincidenceLyso-Time of flightLine (geometry)TEORIA DE LA SEÑAL Y COMUNICACIONESField-programmable gate arrayInstrumentationMathematical PhysicsSimulation

description

In this work the implementation of a Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) using a Nutt delay line FPGA-based and applied on a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) device is going to be presented in order to check the system’s suitability for Time of Flight (TOF) measurements. In recent years, FPGAs have shown great advantages for precise time measurements in PET. The architecture employed for these measurements is described in detail. The system developed was tested on a dedicated breast PET prototype, composed of LYSO crystals and Positive Sensitive Photomultipliers (PSPMTs). Two distinct experiments were carried out for this purpose. In the first test, system linearity was evaluated in order to calibrate the time measurements, providing a linearity error of less than 2% and an average time resolution of 1.4 ns FWHM. The second set of measurements tested system resolution, resulting in a FWHM as good as 1.35 ns. The results suggest that the coincidence window for the current PET can be reduced in order to minimize the random events and thus, achieve better image quality

10.1088/1748-0221/9/05/c05012https://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/9/05/C05012