A list-mode time stamping data acquisition module prototype for coincidence measurements

A list-mode data acquisition system has been developed for medical imaging and other applications in which list-mode data acquisition with time stamping is necessary. The list-mode approach is more costly and time-intensive than hardwired coincidence approaches, but due to scalability is more practical when there are many coincidence detectors. The list-mode data acquisition system was developed using commercially available components and will be used in a list mode for use with the energy-subtraction Compton scatter camera (ESCSC) "proof-of-principle" prototype. The results obtained with the prototype and a pair of NaI(TI) detectors are promising and are comparable to hardware-coincidence solutions. The time resolution of 6 ns has been achieved using time stamp acquisition from a pair of NaI(TI) scintillation detectors. The coincidence spectrum of /sup 22/Na is obtained using solely the list-mode techniques to further validate the method's applicability and equivalence to the conventional hardwired approach.