Masao Yoshino

Development of an APD-Based PET Module and Preliminary Resolution Performance of an Experimental Prototype Gantry

The development of a high-resolution Positron Emission Tomography (PET) technique with sub-millimeter spatial resolution, which utilizes newly designed reverse-type APD-arrays, is uderway. All the detector blocks are modularized with the overall dimension of each module, including the APD array, LYSO scintillator matrix and Front-End Circuits (FECs), which are only 30 × 30 × 80 mm3. Each APD device also has a monolithic 16 × 16 pixel structure with an active area of 1.0 mm2 per pixel. The FEC includes two identical analog ASICs specifically designed for APDs with a noise characteristic of 560 + 30 e-/pF and a timing resolution of 460 ps (rms), respectively. An energy resolution of 13.7 ± 1.1% (FWHM) with 662 keV gamma-rays was measured using the 16 × 16 arrays. At this stage a pair of module and coincidence circuits has been assembled into an experimental prototype gantry. Spatial resolutions of 0.9, 1.4, and 1.3 mm (FWHM) were obtained from FBP reconstructed images in preliminary experiments with a point source positioned centrally, and 1 and 5 mm off-center, respectively. Comparison with a Monte-Carlo simulation of a fully-designed gantry over a wider range of field-of-view showed good correlation with the experimental data. A simple but conceptual design of a DOI configuration is also proposed as a test example of a future APD-PET scanner.

A prototype of aerial radiation monitoring system using an unmanned helicopter mounting a GAGG scintillator Compton camera

Due to the accident of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, some areas were contaminated by released radioisotopes (mainly 137Cs and 134Cs). Effective decontamination is demanded to encourage evacuated people to return. This paper proposes a new survey system using an unmanned helicopter equipped with a Compton camera for localizing radionuclides. As a prototype, 32 Ce:Gd3(Al,Ga)5O12 (GAGG) crystals were coupled to 16 silicon photomultipliers and 16 avalanched photodiodes as the scatterer and absorber, respectively. A new Dynamic Time-over-Threshold (dToT) method was applied to convert CR-RC shaping signals to digital signals for multi-channel spectra and coincidence acquisition. The system was designed to work in two modes: one is Compton-camera mode (CCM) which obtains the radiation distribution maps through Compton imaging using hovering flights, while the other one is Gamma-camera mode (GCM) which maps the radiation distribution via measured coincidence events using programmed flights. For point source in CCM, an intrinsic efficiency of 1.68% with a combined standard uncertainty of 0.04% and an angular resolution of about 14° (FWHM, full width at half maximum) was achieved. In GCM, a spatial resolution of about 11 cm (FWHM) was obtained when detecting area is 11.2 cm away from the detector, while it was about 28 cm (FWHM) in single detector mode (SDM). Promising results were obtained in field in Fukushima.

Time over Threshold based digital animal PET (TODPET)

We have developed Time over Threshold (ToT) based Pr:LuAG-APD PET (TODPET) tomograph with a mixed signal front-end. The tomograph consists of 8 block detectors, each of which is composed of a 12 × 12 array of 2 × 2 x 10mm3 Pr:LuAG crystals individually coupled with 12 × 12 UV-enhanced APD arrays. The APDs are individually read out with a custom-designed Time over Threshold ASIC and FPGA readout system. Developed PET tomograph has the energy resolution of 10% and the time resolution of 4.2ns. The 1.76mm spatial resolution (FWHM) is achieved for the first result.

Expected radiation damage of reverse-type APDs for the Astro-H mission

Scheduled for launch in 2014, Astro-H is the sixth Japanese X-ray astronomy satellite mission. More than 60 silicon avalanche photodiodes (Si-APDs; hereafter APDs) will be used to read out BGO scintillators, which are implemented to generate a veto signal to reduce background contamination for the hard X-ray imager (HXI) and a soft gamma-ray detector (SGD). To date, however, APDs have rarely been used in space experiments. Moreover, strict environmental tests are necessary to guarantee APD performance for missions expected to extend beyond five years. The radiation hardness of APDs, as for most semiconductors, is particularly crucial, since radiation in the space environment is severe. In this paper, we present the results of radiation tests conducted on reverse-type APDs (provided by Hamamatsu Photonics) irradiated by gamma rays (60Co) and 150 MeV protons. We show that, even under the same 100 Gy dose, high energy protons can cause displacement (bulk) damage in the depletion region and possibly change the activation energy, whereas gamma-ray irradiation is less prone to cause damage, because ionization damage dominates only the surface region. We also present quantitative guidance on how to estimate APD noise deterioration over a range of temperatures and radiation doses. As a practical example, we discuss the expected degradation of the BGO energy threshold for the generation of veto signals, following several years of Astro-H operation in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), and directly compare it to experimental results obtained using a small BGO crystal.

Development of a Prototype Detector Using APD-Arrays Coupled With Pixelized Ce:GAGG Scintillator for High Resolution Radiation Imaging

A novel digital PET scanner based on Time over Threshold method is developed. The positron emission tomography (PET) is composed of 144channel Ce:Gd3Al2Ga3O12 (GAGG)-Avaranche photodiode (APD) detector arrays individually coupled with custom designed Time over Threshold (ToT) application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) to realize the high count rate and good spatial resolution. Such an imaging system provides a simple front-end circuit and flexible digital signal processing like multiplexing such as a pulse train method. The measured energy resolution of the detector system was 6.7% for the 511 keV peak, and 4.25 ns time resolution was measured with a single detector module. The measured spatial resolution for a point source was 1.37 mm FWHM for our initial data with a columnar 22Na source.

Field test around Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant site using improved Ce:Gd3(Al,Ga)5O12 scintillator Compton camera mounted on an unmanned helicopter

ABSTRACT An improved light-weight Compton camera exhibiting low power consumption was developed to be mountable on an unmanned helicopter to detect cesium radiation hot spots and confirm the decontamination effect of cesium-affected areas. An increase in the Ce:Gd3(Al,Ga)5O12 scintillator array from 4 × 4 to 8 × 8 and expansion of the interlayer distance enhanced the detection efficiency and angular resolution, respectively. Measurements were performed over the Ukedo riverbed in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture (Japan). The helicopters flight path and speed were pre-programmed to lines interspaced by 5 and 10 m intervals and 1 m/s, respectively, facilitating measurements over areas of 65 × 60 m2 and 65 × 180 m2 at a height of 10 m for approximately 20 and 30 min, respectively. Results provided accurate ambient dose equivalent rate maps at a height of 1 m with an angular resolution corresponding to a position resolution of approximately 10 m from a height of 10 m. Hovering flights were executed over hot-spot areas for 10–20 min at a height of 5–20 m. Gamma-ray images of these hot spots were obtained using a reconstruction software. Comparison between position-shifted measurement results showed that the angular resolution coincided with that evaluated in the laboratory (approximately 10°).

Development of gamma-ray detector sensitive to source directions using GAGG(Ce) scintillators and MPPCs

We have developed a simpler, smaller, and thus less expensive gamma-ray detector that can roughly determine the incident direction of a radiation source with moderate angular resolution, aiming for personal use beyond that afforded by conventional survey meters. The detector consists of six GAGG(Ce) scintillators with dimensions of 20 × 20 × 6 mm³ on each face of a 3-cm cubic lead block. Signals from each scintillator are read by a 3 × 3 mm² Hamamatsu MPPC. We then applied χ² fit to the observed count number set in order to determine the incident direction and set our angular accuracy goal of 22.5°. Through simulation, we injected 662 keV gamma rays uniformly from in front of the detector. We found that the R<inf>90</inf> is distributed from 6.0° to 18.3° in all 980 directions for one-minute exposure to a ¹³⁷Cs source that gives 0.15 μSv/h. Furthermore, our detector achieved the targeted value under BG intensity of 0.25 μSv/h in the experiment.

Single Crystal Growth of Cerium and Praseodymium Doped Scintillator by Micro-Pulling Down Method

Ce and Pr doped YCOB single crystals were grown by the micro-pulling down (μ - PD) method and characterized as for the structure and chemical composition. The expected 420 nm emission of Ce3+ 4f-5d has been observed in Ce:YCOB. Pr:YCOB shows broad emission spectrum peaking around 350 nm and this emission can be well ascribed to the 5d-4f emission of Pr3+. Luminescence and scintillation characteristics of these crystals were also investigated.

Versatile APD-based PET modules for high resolution, fast medical imaging

We report on the development of versatile APD-based PET modules with time-of-flight capability. The module consists of a LYSO matrix optically coupled with a position-sensitive avalanche photodiode (APD) array, and front-end circuits (FEC) directly connected to the rear-end of the APD package. Each APD device has a monolithic 16×16 (or 8×8) pixel structure with an active area of 1.0 (or 4.0) mm2 for each pixel. Time resolutions of 155 ps and 214 ps (FWHM) were obtained for 1.0 mm2 and 4.0 mm2 APD pixels, respectively, measured by the direct detection of 10 keV X-rays. The FEC carries two identical analog ASICs specifically designed for the APDs in TSMC 0.35 μm CMOS technology. Each ASIC consists of 32-channel charge-sensitive amplifiers, band-pass filters, differentiators, pulse-height and timing discriminators, and two-channel time-to-amplitude converters. The noise characteristic of the ASIC, mounted in a low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) package, is 560 +30 e/pF with an electric timing resolution of 484 ps (rms). The overall dimension of the module (including APD-array, LYSO matrix and FEC) is 30×30×80 mm3. The variation of signal amplitude was less than 20% among all pixels. The average energy resolutions of 11.7 ± 0.7 % and 13.7 ± 1.1 % were obtained for 662 keV gamma-rays, measured with 8×8 and 16×16 arrays, respectively. An attainable spatial resolution is < 0.8mm (FWHM) for 16×16 array in a reconstructed image. These results suggest the APD-based PET module can be a promising device for future applications, especially for high resolution MRI- and TOF-PET.