Development of a small animal PET prototype

Presents the design of a small animal PET prototype based on block detectors in which EGO scintillators are coupled to position sensitive photomultiplier tubes (PSPMT). The scanner will consist of 4 such blocks, each made of 288 crystals. By varying the distance one can allow for different size of the field of view. The full set of projections will be obtained by allowing rotations in the field of view. Each PSPMT has 18(X)+16(Y) anode wires. The corresponding signals will be readout and processed individually, to allow for maximal flexibility and data utilisation. The authors are in the process of the design of the blocks. Monte Carlo results concerning critical parameters on the design of the scanner are presented. In addition, the mechanical considerations for the construction of the prototype as well as the electronic design for data acquisition and reconstruction algorithms for image formation is presented.