Imaging properties of pixellated scintillators with deep pixels.

We have investigated the light-transport properties of scintillator arrays with long, thin pixels (deep pixels) for use in high-energy gamma-ray imaging. We compared 10×10 pixel arrays of YSO:Ce, LYSO:Ce and BGO (1mm × 1mm × 20 mm pixels) made by Proteus, Inc. with similar 10×10 arrays of LSO:Ce and BGO (1mm × 1mm × 15mm pixels) loaned to us by Saint-Gobain.

A New Columnar CsI(Tl) Scintillator for iQID detectors.

A 1650 μm thick columnar CsI(Tl) scintillator for upgrading iQID detectors, which is a high-resolution photon-counting gamma-ray and x-ray detector recently developed at the Center for Gamma-Ray Imaging (CGRI), has been studied in terms of sensitivity, spatial resolution and depth-of-interaction effects. To facilitate these studies, a new frame-parsing algorithm for processing raw event data is also proposed that has more degrees of freedom in data processing and can discriminate against a special kind of noise present in some low-cost intensifiers. The results show that in comparison with a 450 μm-thickness columnar CsI(Tl) scintillator, the 1650 μm thick CsI(Tl) scintillator provides more than twice the sensitivity at the expense of some spatial resolution degradation.

High-speed detector for time-resolved diffraction studies.

There are a growing number of high brightness synchrotron sources that require high-frame-rate detectors to provide the time-scales required for performing time-resolved diffraction experiments. We report on the development of a very high frame rate CMOS X-ray detector for time-resolved muscle diffraction and time-resolved solution scattering experiments. The detector is based on a low-afterglow scintillator, provides a megapixel resolution with frame rates of up to 120,000 frames per second, an effective pixel size of 64 µm, and can be adapted for various X-ray energies.

Progress in BazookaSPECT: High-Resolution, Dynamic Scintigraphy with Large-Area Imagers.

We present recent progress in BazookaSPECT, a high-resolution, photon-counting gamma-ray detector. It is a new class of scintillation detector that combines columnar scintillators, image intensifiers, and CCD (charge-coupled device) or CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductors) sensors for high-resolution imaging. A key feature of the BazookaSPECT paradigm is the capability to easily design custom detectors in terms of the desired intrinsic detector resolution and event detection rate.

Depth-of-Interaction Compensation Using a Focused-Cut Scintillator for a Pinhole Gamma Camera.

Preclinical SPECT offers a powerful means to understand the molecular pathways of drug interactions in animal models by discovering and testing new pharmaceuticals and therapies for potential clinical applications. A combination of high spatial resolution and sensitivity are required in order to map radiotracer uptake within small animals. Pinhole collimators have been investigated, as they offer high resolution by means of image magnification.

System Integration of FastSPECT III, a Dedicated SPECT Rodent-Brain Imager Based on BazookaSPECT Detector Technology.

FastSPECT III is a stationary, single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imager designed specifically for imaging and studying neurological pathologies in rodent brain, including Alzheimer's and Parkinsons's disease. Twenty independent BazookaSPECT [1] gamma-ray detectors acquire projections of a spherical field of view with pinholes selected for desired resolution and sensitivity. Each BazookaSPECT detector comprises a columnar CsI(Tl) scintillator, image-intensifier, optical lens, and fast-frame-rate CCD camera.

Suppression of Afterglow in Microcolumnar CsI:Tl by Codoping With Sm: Recent Advances.

Microcolumnar CsI:Tl remains a highly desirable sensor for digital X-ray imaging due to its superior spatial resolution, bright emission, high absorption efficiency, and ready availability. Despite such obvious advantages, two characteristic properties of CsI:Tl undermine their use in clinical and high speed imaging: a persistent afterglow in its scintillation decay, and a hysteresis effect that distorts the scintillation yield after exposure to high radiation doses.In our earlier work we have discovered that the addition of 0.

Cost-effective EMCCD-based detector for time-resolved biological SAXS applications.

Third generation synchrotron sources such as the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, are outstanding tools for X-ray diffraction and scattering studies of non-crystalline biological materials. However, these studies are hindered by the lack of adequate detectors that can provide multiple frames of detailed structural information on the required millisecond time scale at the extremely high count rates available at the APS. RMD is developing a cost effective detector for time-resolved small angle X-ray scattering, using a cooled, 512x512 pixel electron multiplying CCD (EMCCD).