Design and modeling of a high resolution and high sensitivity PET brain scanner with double-ended readout.

In the wake of recent advancements in scintillator, photodetector, and low-noise fast electronics technologies, as well as in fast reconstruction software, positron emission tomography (PET) scanners have seen considerable improvements in spatial resolution, time resolution, and absolute sensitivity. To continue this trend, we present a helmet type PET brain scanner design that combines high solid angle coverage and double-ended readout of 30 mm-thick scintillator crystals to achieve excellent absolute sensitivity, depth of interaction resolution, and time resolution. This scanner comprises 598 detector arrays, each with 8 × 8 LuYSiO:Ce (LYSO:Ce) crystals with dimensions 3.