Comparative Analysis of the Common Scintillation Crystals Used in Nuclear Medicine Imaging Devices

The recent improvement and development of nuclear medicine imaging devices has triggered the need for new or improved scintillation crystals. There are several scintillation crystals suitable for nuclear medicine applications, each has its own unique properties that differentiate it from others. Factors that contribute to the overall performance of these crystals, ranges from density, decay time to hygroscopicity. Selection of the appropriate crystal material has been an issue in nuclear medicine, because the performance values of these crystals are closely related to each other. Therefore, this research aims to use a multi-criteria decision-making method, fuzzy Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE), to evaluate and compare selected scintillation crystals based on the factors affecting their performance. The methodology requires that data on relevant scintillation crystal properties be collected and their respective importance weights be chosen. The collected data are then converted into triangular fuzzy numbers and then fed into the PROMETHEE application to evaluate and provide a complete ranking. The method utilizes fuzzy numbers to provide an overall ranking of the selected scintillation crystal based on the inputs. The ranking also presents the best and worst alternative. The evaluation results showed that Lutetium oxyorthosilicate (LSO) and Lutetium yttrium oxyorthosilicate (LYSO) are among the preferred scintillation materials for nuclear medicine applications based on the selected criteria and their weights. With fuzzy PROMETHEE technique, we achieved a decision result by incorporating the input data. The proposed method practically provides advanced solutions to decision-making problems in nuclear medicine applications such as Positron Emission Tomography and Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography. The decision maker can confidently choose the ideal scintillation material based on the outcome of the evaluation results.