Internal-gain CMOS APS Camera for SPECT Imaging of Small Animals

描述(申请人提供)：核医学技术，如SPECT和PET，是体内生物过程功能成像的强大工具。最近，在小动物身上建立人类疾病模型方面取得了重大进展。SPECT和PET的一个关键优势是，它们允许以非侵入性方式获得功能信息，因此在纵向设计的研究中，每个动物都可以作为自己的对照。在实验室动物研究中使用核医学的主要障碍传统上是空间分辨率、成本和可及性较差。临床放射性核素系统不适合小动物研究。本工作研究了一种高空间分辨率SPECT探测器的构建，该探测器由CSL(掺Tl)闪烁阵列和对准的、间距匹配的CMOS相机芯片组成。该芯片将像素级读出组件与内部增益的CMOSAPD型像素集成在一个单片器件中。该技术结合了雪崩光电二极管探测器的高增益、高带宽检测能力和高空间分辨率、高像素计数以及低成本的CMOS型有源像素传感器相机芯片。连接到间距匹配闪烁阵列的cmos相机的设计和制造是主要的里程碑。综上所述，我们将推进CMOS成像技术，以生产适用于小动物SPECT成像的专用相机。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Nuclear medicine techniques such as SPECT and PET are powerful tools for functional imaging of biological processes in vivo. Recently, there have been significant advances in development of human disease models in small animals. A critical advantage of SPECT and PET is that they allow functional information to be obtained non-invasively, so each animal can serve as its own control in studies with a longitudinal design. The main barriers to using nuclear medicine in studies of laboratory animals have traditionally been poor spatial-resolution, cost and accessibility. Clinical radionuclide systems are not suitable for small animal research. This work investigates the construction of a high spatial-resolution SPECT detector composed of a Csl (Tl- doped) scintillation array and an aligned, pitch-matched CMOS camera chip. The CMOS-camera chip integrates the pixel-level readout components with the internal-gain CMOS-APD pixels in a monolithic device. This technology combines the high-gain, high-bandwidth detection capabilities of APD detectors with the high-spatial resolution, high-pixel count, and low cost of CMOS active-pixel-sensor camera chips. The design and fabrication of the CMOS camera connected to a pitch-matched scintillation array represent the major milestones. In summary, we will advance CMOS imaging technology to produce an application- specific camera for small-animal SPECT imaging.