Dependence of timing resolution on crystal size for TOF PET

Recently, with the prospect of great improvement in image quality, the development of time of flight technology has become an exciting topic for positron emission tomography. The excitement was further accelerated by the introduction of various fast and high light output scintillators as well as new photo-sensors. However, the development of improved time of flight detectors is not only about the selection of crystals and photo-sensors, but also about how detectors are assembled to optimize their performance. For example, depending on crystal block structure, photo-sensor layout, and coupling methods, a detector’s timing resolution can be drastically different. Since the effect of block structure for timing resolution is complex and less understood it is essential to first dissect the block structure and understand the impact of its basic components on timing resolution. In this paper, we will present the dependence of timing resolution on varying the dimensions of the scintillator crystals that are the main component of a block detector.