Requirements of Scintillation Crystals with the Development of PET Scanners

Xin Yu; Xi Zhang; Heng Zhang; Hao Peng; Qiushi Ren; Jianfeng Xu; Qiyu Peng; Siwei Xie

doi:10.3390/cryst12091302

Crystals (Sep 2022)

Requirements of Scintillation Crystals with the Development of PET Scanners

Xin Yu,
Xi Zhang,
Heng Zhang,
Hao Peng,
Qiushi Ren,
Jianfeng Xu,
Qiyu Peng,
Siwei Xie

Affiliations

Xin Yu: School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430074, China
Xi Zhang: School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430074, China
Heng Zhang: School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430074, China
Hao Peng: School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, 299 Bayi Road, Wuhan 430074, China
Qiushi Ren: Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518107, China
Jianfeng Xu: School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430074, China
Qiyu Peng: Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518107, China
Siwei Xie: Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 518107, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst12091302
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 12, no. 9
p. 1302

Abstract

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Positron emission tomography (PET) is widely used in the diagnosis of tumors, cardiovascular system diseases, and neurological diseases. Scintillation crystals are an important part of PET scanners; they can convert γ photons into fluorescent photons to obtain their energy, time, and position information. Currently, an important research goal in PET is to find scintillation crystals with better performance. In this work, the principle of scintillation crystals is introduced, and the properties and requirements of scintillation crystals in different PET scanners are analyzed. At present, Lu2(1−x)Y2xSiO5 (LYSO) is the scintillation crystal with the best comprehensive properties. LaBr3 performs even better regarding the timing characteristics and light output; however, LaBr3 has not been used in any PET scanner because of its deliquescence. Detectors made of Gd3(Ga, Al)5O12 (GAGG) exhibit a high depth of interaction (DOI) resolution and have considerable application potential. The application fields of PET are constantly expanding, and its future development aims to achieve high spatial resolution and high sensitivity, which require scintillation crystals with better performance.

Published in Crystals

ISSN: 2073-4352 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Chemistry: Crystallography
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/crystals/

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