Instrumentation

Our first instrument for PEPT is the ECAT HR++ (Model: CTI/Siemens 966) Positron Emission Tomography (PET) camera, which was originally designed with the aim of achieving high sensitivity and high efficiency for clinical PET-based research. The camera consists of 48 rings of standard bismuth germinate detector elements (each 4.39 mm transaxial × 4.05 mm axial × 30 mm deep, grouped in blocks of 8 × 8) with a ring diameter of 82 cm, producing an axial field of view of 23.4 cm. This is significantly larger than other ‘standard’ ring geometry PET cameras. Spinks et al. (2000) measured that the data acquisition system can maintain a maximum acquisition rate of about 4 million coincidence events per second, and the mean spatial resolution of the scanner for PET imaging was 4.8 mm FWHM (transaxial, 1 cm off-axis) and 5.6 mm (axial, on-axis). The instrument records “list mode” data with a temporal resolution of 1 millisecond. The uncertainty in PEPT measurements with this instrument depends significantly on the geometry of the system being studied, the size and activity of the tracer, and the speed of the tracer. For a stationary tracer at the centre of the field of view of the scanner, the uncertainty in the measured positions is about 1 mm. This typically increases to a few mm as the speed of the particle increases. Tracers moving at speeds up to 15 metres per second have been successfully tracked with PEPT.

Our second camera is an ADAC Vertex model with two parallel heads. This facilitates PEPT tests in larger equipment with overhead machinery and header tanks. It has a field of view of 380 x 500 x 300-800 mm³ with adjustable heads.

Coming soon: Custom built PET cameras to fit your experimental vessel and achieve high detection efficiency. Please contact us for more information.

Coming soon: PET/CT camera for quantitative PET and CT measurements. Please contact us for further information.