A New Scintillator for Radionuclide Imaging

描述(申请人提供)：单光子发射计算机断层扫描(SPECT)是一种强大的、非侵入性的医学成像技术，它提供了放射性核素在人体内任何切片上通过被研究器官的三维分布的图像。这些图像可以研究被研究区域的新陈代谢，也是了解器官功能以及诊断癌症、心肌缺血、阿尔茨海默病、头部创伤和中风等疾病症状的有用工具。 在SPECT系统中，通常使用与光电倍增管耦合的闪烁晶体(如NaI：Ti)作为探测器，而系统的成像性能往往受到可用闪烁材料特性的限制。为了克服现有探测器的局限性，本研究的目标是探索一种与NaI(T1)晶体相比具有更高的光输出、更快的响应速度和更高的阻止效率的新型闪烁材料。第一阶段项目将旨在证明生产这种新的闪烁材料的大晶体并将这种晶体应用于放射性核素成像的可行性。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant):Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) is a powerful, non-invasive medical imaging technique which provides an image of the three-dimensional distribution of radionuclide in any slice through an organ under study in the body. These images allow investigation of metabolism in the region being studied and are also a useful tool for understanding the functioning of the organs, as well as diagnosing symptoms of diseases such as cancer, myocardial ischemia, Alzheimer's disease, head trauma, and stroke. Scintillation crystals (such as NaI:TI) coupled to photomultiplier tubes are typically used as detectors in SPECT systems and the imaging performance of the system is often limited by the characteristics of the available scintillation materials. In order to overcome the limitations in the existing detectors, the goal of the proposed research is to investigate a promising new scintillation material which shows higher light output, faster response, and higher stopping efficiency compared to NaI(T1) crystals. The Phase I project will be aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of producing large crystals of the new scintillation material and applying such crystals to radionuclide imaging.