Testing of the spatial resolution and efficiency of scintillating fiber PET modules

Two experimental positron emission tomography (PET) camera modules were constructed using (1) two 5-cm*5-cm*2.5-cm detector stacks made of parallel 0.5- and 1.0-mm-diameter scintillating fibers and (2) two 5-cm*5-cm*5-cm detector stacks made of alternating x and y layers of 0.5-and 1.0-mm diameter scintillating fibers. Each stack was viewed by Hamamatsu R2486 position sensitive photomultipliers. The time resolution of the coincidence system was 10 ns. The spatial resolution and efficiency of the PET modules was tested using an approximately 1 mu Ci 0.5-mm-diameter Na-22 source. The best results were achieved with the 1.0-mm parallel fiber stacks: 2.0-mm spatial resolution (FWHM) and 2.3% efficiency. Possibilities to improve the characteristics of this agreement and, particularly, the alternating x and y layer stacks are discussed.<
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