US 12,449,554 B2
Scintillator detectors and methods for positron emission tomography
Philipp Braeuninger-Weimer, Seattle, WA (US); Chad E. Seaver, Knoxville, TN (US); Ronald Grazioso, Knoxville, TN (US); and Simon Philip Jelley, Cambridge (GB)
Assigned to Cintilight, LLC, Seattle, WA (US)
Filed by Cintilight, LLC, Seattle, WA (US)
Filed on Oct. 4, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/907,444.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/588,258, filed on Oct. 5, 2023.
Prior Publication US 2025/0116787 A1, Apr. 10, 2025
Int. Cl. A61B 6/03 (2006.01); A61B 6/00 (2006.01); A61B 6/42 (2024.01); G01T 1/164 (2006.01); G01T 1/20 (2006.01); G01T 1/29 (2006.01)
CPC G01T 1/1644 (2013.01) [A61B 6/037 (2013.01); A61B 6/4258 (2013.01); A61B 6/4266 (2013.01); A61B 6/5258 (2013.01); G01T 1/20185 (2020.05); G01T 1/2985 (2013.01)] 14 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A gamma radiation scintillator detector comprising:
a cuboid monolithic scintillator with six faces, including a first end-face to receive a gamma photon, a second end-face opposing the first end-face, and four lateral faces, including a first lateral face opposing a third lateral face and a second lateral face opposing a fourth lateral face;
arrays of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) on only three orthogonal faces of the scintillator, including:
a first two-dimensional array of SiPMs on the second end-face of the monolithic scintillator;
a second two-dimensional array of SiPMs on the first lateral face of the monolithic scintillator;
a third two-dimensional array of SiPMs on the second lateral face of the monolithic scintillator;
reflective material positioned on the three orthogonal faces of the scintillator without an array of SiPMs, including reflective material on at least the first end-face, the third lateral face, and the fourth lateral face, such that each face with an array of SiPMs is opposed by a face with reflective material;
a position module to calculate location information of a scintillation event based on detection signals from the SiPM arrays on the three orthogonal faces of the scintillator;
a processing circuit comprising:
a first timing channel to generate a first side event timing signal for the second end-face based on combined detection signals from the first two-dimensional array of SiPMs;
a second timing channel to generate a second side event timing signal for the first lateral face based on combined detection signals from the second two-dimensional array of SiPMs; and
a third timing channel to generate a third side event timing signal for the second lateral face based on combined detection signals from the third two-dimensional array of SiPMs; and
a time correction module to adjust the first, second, and third side event timing signals based on the calculated location information of the scintillation event, thereby generating:
a first adjusted side event timing signal for the second end-face;
a second adjusted side event timing signal for the first lateral face; and
a third adjusted side event timing signal for the second lateral face.