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Multiphoton, time‐of‐flight three‐dimensional radionuclide imaging
Author(s) -
Powell M. D.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.596340
Subject(s) - nuclide , photon , physics , collimated light , annihilation , positron , coincidence , detector , optics , nuclear physics , laser , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , electron
A method for applying time‐of‐flight (TOF) information to the three‐dimensional (3‐D) localization of multiple‐photon‐emitting radionuclides is presented. The same principle used for TOF imaging of positron annihilation photons is suggested for use with nuclides that emit two photons (gamma or x rays) in near coincidence. Two photons originating from the same decay event are detected. The locations at which they are detected become the foci of a hyperbola described by the difference in their path length. If one detector is collimated a line is established by the photon it detects, which intersects the hyperbola at the origin of the event. Should TOF imaging become a reality, this technique would extend its usefulness to nuclides that do not emit positrons.