Continuous sampling and digital integration for PET scintillation
US6664543B2 · kind B2 · utility
5Cited by
8References
14Claims
0Family size
Assignee
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Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 28, 2002 |
| Grant date | Dec 16, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 28, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B6/037
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An apparatus and method for determining the total energy of a continuously under-sampled energy signal resulting from an annihilation event detected by a positron emission tomograph (PET) scanner. An annihilation event is detected by a scintillator crystal and photomultiplier tube, which produces an energy signal that is continuously under-sampled by an analog-to-digital converter. The start time of the energy signal is determined by a constant fraction discriminator and time-to-digital converter. The start time is used to calculate a new amplitude for each sample, from which the total energy can be calculated.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.