Abstract: A scintillation camera crystal includes a plurality of light scattering holes in the crystal extending toward the photosensor and communicating with at least one surface of the crystal, the crystal is formed from a first material and the holes include a second material differing from the first material for deflecting the light generated by the scintillation crystal in response to incident gamma rays and reducing the spread of the generated light.

Abstract: A scintillation camera including photosensors for producing an output in response to emitted light; a scintillation material for emitting light directed to the photosensors in response to radiation absorbed by a source, the scintillation material formed in two or more segments defining an optical interface between adjacent segments; and an increased surface area at the interface for improving the transmissivity of the interface and efficiently optically coupling the adjacent sensors.

Abstract: A scintillation camera including a radiation detector for emitting light in response to radiation absorbed from a source; a first set of photosensors disposed at a first distance from the radiation detector means for producing an output in response to emitted light; and a second set of photosensors located proximate at least one edge of the radiation detector and disposed at a second distance greater than the first distance for increasing the field of view of the camera.

Abstract: A liquid interface scintillation camera for sensing radiation emitted from a source includes: a scintillation crystal for emitting light in response to radiation absorbed from the source; a photomultiplier array, responsive to the scintillation crystal, for producing an output in response to the emitted light; a sealed chamber in which a first side is defined by the photomultiplier array and a second side, opposite the first side, is defined by the scintillation crystal; and a liquid interface medium fills the chamber directly, optically coupling the photomultipliers and the scintillation crystal.

Abstract: An annular cylindrical multihole collimator for a radioisotope camera made by forming a plurality of closed annular radio-opaque plates which may be all corrugated plates or may be half corrugated and half flat, each having at least one collimator segment section and junction, and stacking a number of said plates cylindrically, axially on one another, alternately if both flat and corrugated plates are used, to form an annular cylindrical multihole collimator with at least one segment, each plate being bonded to its adjacent plates.

Abstract: A position analysis system and method for determining the position of an event sensed by one or more detectors includes detector means having at least one detector for detecting an emission from an event; means, responsive to the detector means, for generating a number of different functions from the outputs of one or more detectors; means for determining the estimated position of the event and the reliability of that estimation from each of the functions; and means for combining all of the estimated positions and all of the reliabilities of those estimated positions to define the best estimate of the position of the event.

Abstract: A movable calibration collimator for a radionuclide emission tomography camera, and a calibration system using same, having a wall of material which is opaque to radionuclide emissions and is movable in a first direction relative to the camera. One or more patterns of openings are defined by the wall to pass radionuclide emissions. The openings of each pattern are aligned in a direction transverse to the first direction to provide an array of camera images upon movement of the wall relative to the camera. The number of images generated for the array are greater than the number of openings. A method of using such a calibration collimator to perform linearity correction involves installing the calibration collimator and a line source of radionuclide emissions, acquiring a camera image of the pattern of openings, and incrementing the calibration collimator for a desired number of increments. Each camera image, collected at each position of the collimator, has a position image for each opening.

Abstract: A collimator system rotatable about an axis of rotation for use in a radionuclide emission tomography camera for imaging a region of an object, including a collimator having a number of collimator elements for restricting and collimating the radionuclide emissions. The collimator elements are disposed with their axes intersecting at least one line, parallel to the axis of rotation, at at least two different angles. The collimator elements establish a selected variation in imaging sensitivity across the imaging region.

Abstract: A scintillation camera having scintillation material which emits light in response to absorbed radiation, an array of photodetectors for detecting the emitted light, and a segmented light pipe which conducts the emitted light to the photodetectors. The light pipe includes a plurality of segments which intersect with adjacent segments at an angle and define planar faces which are optically coupled to the photodetectors.

Abstract: A compound collimator for use in a radionuclide emission tomography camera to image a region of an object, including a collimator structure having a number of collimator elements arranged in at least two sections to define a different tomographic field of view boundary for each section. Each boundary encompasses a different portion of the region and the sections in combination establish a different imaging sensitivity for each portion. At least one of the boundaries encompasses the entire region to be imaged.

Abstract: A multifield collimator system and radionuclide emission tomography camera using same which include at least two collimator segments whose fields of view in combination define at least two tomographic field of view boundaries. At least one of the boundaries encompasses the region to be imaged of an object. The fields of view may overlap at least in part to produce enhanced imaging sensitivity in the portion of overlap. The tomography camera detects radionuclide emissions from the region to collect at least one collimated image through each segment and combines the collimated images to produce a final image of the region exhibiting enhanced sensitivity in the portion of overlap. A multifield method of collimation is also disclosed.

Abstract: A pulse pile-up discrimination system for a multicell detector accumulates a charge on each cell to detect its response to a radiant emission impinging on an unknown position of the detector; the position of impingement of the radiant emission is established in accordance with the charge on each cell; a pulse pile-up discriminator provides, associated with each impingement position, lower and upper discrimination levels of a function of the distribution of charge on the cells indicative of a pulse pile-up; a function of the distribution of the charge on the cells is generated in response to the radiant emission impinging on the unknown position of the detector; the function of the distribution of charges on the cells in response to the radiant emission impinging on the unknown position of the detectors is compared to the lower and upper discrimination levels of a function of the distribution of charges provided by the pulse pile-up discriminator to determine whether a pulse pile-up has occurred.

Abstract: A radionuclide emission tomography camera for sensing gamma ray emissions from a source within the field of view, including: a fixed position-sensitive detector, responsive to the gamma ray emissions and surrounding the field of view, for detecting the contact position and the trajectory from which a gamma ray emission originates; a rotatable collimator disposed between the fixed position-sensitive detector and the field of view and including at least one array of collimator elements for restricting and collimating the gamma ray emissions; and means for rotating the collimator relative to the fixed position-sensitive detector for exposing different sections of the position-sensitive detector to the gamma ray emissions in order to view the source from different angles.