Patent · US Expired

Randoms correction using artificial trigger pulses in a gamma camera system

US6198104A · kind A · utility

6Cited by
19References
33Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 23, 1998
Grant dateMar 6, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 23, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
  • CPC primaryA61B6/037
  • WIPO fieldMedical technology
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A technique for correcting for random coincidences in a gamma camera system is provided. The system includes a pair of scintillation detectors coupled to a processing system and is configured to detect radiation coincidences. Each detector generates trigger pulses in response to scintillation events to generate a plurality of event-based trigger pulses. Each detector includes a pulse generator, which generates a plurality of artificial trigger pulses. When an artificial trigger pulse in one detector occurs in coincidence with an event-based trigger pulse in the other detector, data is registered by the corresponding detectors, and the artificial trigger pulse is associated with a predetermined energy level. The data processing system examines the data to identify singles events that were registered as a result of artificial trigger pulses and prevents such singles events from contributing to the coincidence images. Instead, such singles events are used to generate a singles image for each detector. The singles images from the detectors are then used to create a randoms image, which is used to correct the coincidence images for random coincidences.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.