Chen J C
Department of Medical Radiation Technology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Appl Radiat Isot. 1999 May;50(5):935-46. doi: 10.1016/s0969-8043(98)00117-1.
This paper reports investigations into some of the improvements of the performance of 'modular' gamma-ray cameras. Each modular camera has a 10 x 10 cm NaI(Tl) scintillation crystal and four 5 x 5 cm photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). When the gamma-ray photons interact with the crystal, scintillation flashes are emitted from the crystal and detected by the PMTs. The PMTs then convert the light flashes to current pulses. A digital computing circuitry processes the PMT outputs and assigns an estimated (x, y) coordinate corresponding to the location of interaction of each gamma-ray photon in the crystal and thus an image is formed. This paper is concerned with improvements and clinical applications of the modular cameras. We do the camera characterization by measuring spatial resolution and sensitivity of the modular camera and compare these characteristics to those of a commercial gamma camera. We design and construct a stand-alone planar imaging system based on the modular camera. This imager is examined with a set of phantoms and clinical tests to demonstrate the clinical feasibility of the stand-alone system.
本文报道了对“模块化”伽马射线相机性能改进的一些研究。每个模块化相机都有一个10×10厘米的碘化钠（铊）闪烁晶体和四个5×5厘米的光电倍增管（PMT）。当伽马射线光子与晶体相互作用时，晶体会发出闪烁闪光，并由光电倍增管检测到。然后，光电倍增管将闪光转换为电流脉冲。数字计算电路处理光电倍增管的输出，并为每个伽马射线光子在晶体中的相互作用位置分配一个估计的（x，y）坐标，从而形成一幅图像。本文关注模块化相机的改进和临床应用。我们通过测量模块化相机的空间分辨率和灵敏度来对相机进行特性描述，并将这些特性与商用伽马相机的特性进行比较。我们基于模块化相机设计并构建了一个独立的平面成像系统。使用一组体模和临床测试对该成像仪进行检查，以证明独立系统的临床可行性。
