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A Very High Spatial Resolution Detector for Small Animal PET—Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc., 44 Hunt Street, Watertown, MA  02472-4699; 617-668-6800, http://www.rmdinc.com

Mr. Kanai S. Shah, M.S., Principal Investigator, KShah@rmdinc.com

Dr. Gerald Entine, Business Official, GEntine@rmdinc.com

DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-05ER84298

Amount:  $100,000

Positron Emission Tomography (PET), an in vivo analog of autoradiography, has the potential to become a powerful new tool for imaging biological processes in small laboratory animals.  PET imaging of small animals can provide unique information that can help in the advancement of human disease models as well as in drug development. However, clinical PET scanners used for human imaging are bulky, expensive, and do not have adequate spatial resolution for small animal studies.  Hence, dedicated, low cost instruments are required for conducting small animal studies with higher spatial resolution than what is currently achieved with clinical as well as dedicated small animal PET scanners.  This project will investigate a new all solid-state detector design for small animal PET imaging, leading to exceptionally high spatial resolution, good timing resolution, and excellent energy resolution.  Phase I will demonstrate the feasibility of producing high performance solid-state detectors that provide high sensitivity, spatial resolution, and timing characteristics.  The energy resolution characteristics of the new detector will also be determined.

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee:  Over and above use in medical imaging, the new solid-state detectors should be useful in non-destructive testing, geological exploration, homeland security, and environmental monitoring.  They will also be useful in nuclear, particle, health and space physics experiments.