CN-122017923-A - Detection module, decoding method thereof, detector and emission imaging device

CN122017923ACN 122017923 ACN122017923 ACN 122017923ACN-122017923-A

Abstract

The invention provides a detection module, a decoding method thereof, a detector and emission imaging equipment. The detection module includes a plurality of scintillation crystals having a first end face, a second end face opposite the first end face, and a side face connected between the first end face and the second end face, a first reflective layer covering the side face of the plurality of scintillation crystals, the first reflective layer between any adjacent scintillation crystals on a predetermined arrangement path including a light transmissive window to form a light path through all scintillation crystals and the light transmissive window on the predetermined arrangement path, a plurality of photosensors coupled to at least a portion of the first end face of the plurality of scintillation crystals and fewer in number than the plurality of scintillation crystals, visible light photons within each of the plurality of scintillation crystals being transmissible to at least two of the plurality of photosensors via the light path, and a second reflective layer covering the second end face of the plurality of scintillation crystals. Therefore, fewer photoelectric sensors can be adopted, so that more scintillation crystals can be detected, and the cost is reduced.

Inventors

HAN SIYUAN
YU XIN
ZHANG XIAOYIN
TAO JINYONG
ZHAO HUIPING
ZHANG YIBIN
Zeng Jiayang
PENG QIYU

Assignees

深圳湾实验室

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20260123

Claims (20)

1. A detection module, comprising: A plurality of scintillation crystals each having a first end face, a second end face opposite the first end face, and a side face connected between the first end face and the second end face, the plurality of scintillation crystals being adjacently arranged in an array along a predetermined arrangement path and the side face; The first reflecting layer covers the side surfaces of the plurality of scintillation crystals, and the first reflecting layer between any adjacent scintillation crystals on the preset arrangement path comprises a light-transmitting window so as to form a light path passing through all scintillation crystals on the preset arrangement path and the light-transmitting window; A plurality of photosensors fewer in number than the plurality of scintillation crystals, the plurality of photosensors coupled to a first end face of at least a portion of the plurality of scintillation crystals such that visible light photons within each of the plurality of scintillation crystals are conductable to at least two of the plurality of photosensors via the optical path, and And the second reflecting layer covers the second end surfaces of the plurality of scintillation crystals.
2. The detection module of claim 1, wherein the plurality of photosensors are disposed corresponding to a portion of the predetermined routing path such that projections of the plurality of photosensors onto the first end faces of the plurality of scintillation crystals cover only a portion of the first end faces of the plurality of scintillation crystals.
3. The detection module according to claim 2, wherein, The plurality of photosensors is disposed corresponding to a portion of the plurality of scintillation crystals and a first end face of each scintillation crystal of the portion of the plurality of scintillation crystals is coupled to a corresponding photosensor, or Each of the plurality of scintillation crystals is coupled to the photosensor such that at least a portion of adjacent scintillation crystals are commonly coupled to the same photosensor.
4. The detection module of claim 1, wherein the plurality of scintillation crystals includes a first scintillation crystal, a second scintillation crystal, and third and fourth scintillation crystals positioned therebetween along the predetermined routing path, the third scintillation crystal being adjacent to the first scintillation crystal, the fourth scintillation crystal being adjacent to the second scintillation crystal, the plurality of photosensors including a first photosensor and a second photosensor, wherein: a first end of the first scintillation crystal is coupled to the first photosensor, a first end of the second scintillation crystal is coupled to the second photosensor, and/or The first end face of the third scintillation crystal is coupled to the first photosensor and the first end face of the fourth scintillation crystal is coupled to the second photosensor.
5. The detection module of claim 4, wherein with the first end face of the first scintillation crystal coupled to the first photosensor and the first end face of the second scintillation crystal coupled to the second photosensor: a light-transmitting window in a first reflective layer between the first scintillation crystal and the third scintillation crystal is adjacent to the second end face, a light-transmitting window in a first reflective layer between the second scintillation crystal and the fourth scintillation crystal is disposed adjacent to the second end face, and a light-transmitting window in a first reflective layer between the third scintillation crystal and the fourth scintillation crystal is adjacent to the first end face.
6. The detection module of claim 4, wherein with a first end face of the third scintillation crystal coupled to the first photosensor and a first end face of the fourth scintillation crystal coupled to the second photosensor: The light-transmitting window in the first reflective layer between the first scintillation crystal and the third scintillation crystal includes a first sub-window adjacent the first end face and a second sub-window adjacent the second end face, the light-transmitting window in the first reflective layer between the second scintillation crystal and the fourth scintillation crystal includes a third sub-window adjacent the first end face and a fourth sub-window adjacent the second end face, and the light-transmitting window between the third scintillation crystal and the fourth scintillation crystal is adjacent the first end face.
7. The detection module of claim 4, wherein the first end face of the first scintillation crystal and the first end face of the third scintillation crystal are commonly coupled to the first photosensor, and the first end face of the second scintillation crystal and the first end face of the fourth scintillation crystal are commonly coupled to the second photosensor: A light-transmitting window in a first reflective layer between the first scintillation crystal and the third scintillation crystal is adjacent to the second end face, a light-transmitting window in a first reflective layer between the second scintillation crystal and the fourth scintillation crystal is adjacent to the second end face, and a light-transmitting window in a first reflective layer between the third scintillation crystal and the fourth scintillation crystal is adjacent to the first end face.
8. The detection module of claim 7, wherein the detection module comprises a plurality of sensors, A portion of a first end face of each of the first scintillation crystal and the third scintillation crystal is covered with a third reflective layer, an uncovered portion of the first end face of both the first scintillation crystal and the third scintillation crystal forming a first coupling opening through which the first scintillation crystal and the third scintillation crystal are commonly coupled to the first photosensor; A portion of a first end face of each of the second and fourth scintillation crystals is covered with a third reflective layer, an uncovered portion of the first end faces of both the second and fourth scintillation crystals forming a second coupling opening through which the second and fourth scintillation crystals are commonly coupled to the second photosensor.
9. The detection module of claim 7, wherein the detection module comprises a plurality of sensors, A first end face of the first scintillation crystal and a first end face of the third scintillation crystal are coupled to the first photosensor through a tapered first light guide, The first end face of the second scintillation crystal and the first end face of the fourth scintillation crystal are coupled to the second photosensor through a tapered second light guide.
10. The detection module of claim 1, wherein the plurality of scintillation crystals includes a first scintillation crystal, a second scintillation crystal, and a fifth scintillation crystal positioned therebetween along the predetermined routing path, the plurality of photosensors includes a first photosensor and a second photosensor, A first end face of the first scintillation crystal is coupled to the first photosensor and a first end face of the second scintillation crystal is coupled to the second photosensor.
11. The detection module of claim 10, wherein the detection module is configured to, The light transmission windows in the first reflecting layer between the first scintillation crystal and the fifth scintillation crystal are adjacent to the second end face A light transmissive window in the first reflective layer between the second scintillation crystal and the fifth scintillation crystal is adjacent to the second end face.
12. The detection module according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined routing path is rectilinear, C-shaped, O-shaped or S-shaped.
13. A detector, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of detection modules, at least one of which is the detection module of any one of claims 1-12.
14. The detector of claim 13, wherein the plurality of detection modules includes a primary detection module and a secondary detection module disposed adjacent to each other, the primary detection module being the detection module of any one of claims 1-12, The first reflective layer between the primary detection module and the side of an adjacent scintillation crystal between the secondary detection modules includes a light transmissive window configured to enable visible photons within any scintillation crystal of the secondary detection modules to be conducted onto the optical path of the primary detection module for detection by at least two optical sensors in the primary detection module.
15. The detector of claim 14, wherein the primary detection module comprises a first primary detection module and a second primary detection module adjacent to the secondary detection module, respectively, The light-transmitting window comprises a light-transmitting window between the side surfaces of adjacent scintillation crystals between the first primary detection module and the secondary detection module and a light-transmitting window between the side surfaces of adjacent scintillation crystals between the second primary detection module and the secondary detection module, The at least two optical sensors include optical sensors in the first primary detection module and/or the second primary detection module.
16. The detector of claim 15, wherein the plurality of secondary detection modules are arranged between the first primary detection module and the second primary detection module, The first reflective layer between the sides of adjacent scintillation crystals between any two secondary detection modules includes a light transmissive window configured such that visible photons within any scintillation crystal within any secondary detection module can be conducted to an adjacent secondary detection module.
17. The detector of claim 14, wherein a light transmissive window is provided between adjacent scintillation crystals within the secondary detection module.
18. An emissive imaging device, comprising: The detector according to any one of claims 13-17, and And the processor module is electrically connected with the photoelectric sensor of the detector and is used for decoding the event.
19. The emissive imaging device of claim 18, wherein the processor module is specifically configured to: Based on photon intensities received by a plurality of photoelectric sensors in the same detection module and photon transmittance of light transmission windows, determining the number of light transmission windows through which visible photons reach the plurality of photoelectric sensors respectively, and further decoding the position of a scintillation crystal of the detection module, and/or Based on photon intensities received by a plurality of photoelectric sensors in the same detection module and the length of a single scintillation crystal, the total length of the scintillation crystal through which the visible light photons reach the plurality of photoelectric sensors respectively is determined, and then the reaction depth of an event in the scintillation crystal is decoded.
20. A method for decoding the detection module of any of claims 1-12, the method comprising: decoding a position of a scintillation crystal at which an event occurred based on the photon intensities received by the at least two of the plurality of photosensors and the photon transmittance of the light transmissive window, and/or Based on the intensities of the at least two received photons of the plurality of photosensors and the length of a single scintillation crystal, the total length of the visible photons reaching the at least two scintillation crystals respectively passing by is determined, thereby decoding the depth of reaction of the event occurring within the scintillation crystal.

Description

Detection module, decoding method thereof, detector and emission imaging device Technical Field The invention relates to the technical field of emission imaging equipment, in particular to a detection module, a decoding method of a reaction position and/or a reaction depth of the detection module, a detector and the emission imaging equipment. Background With the increasing level of science and technology, there are increasing means by which people deal with complex conditions. The computed tomography technology is a major breakthrough in the field of nuclear medicine imaging equipment. Emission computed tomography (Emission Computed Tomography, ECT) is also known as radionuclide computed tomography, and is a imaging technique capable of displaying the distribution and stereoscopic images of radionuclides at various levels in the human body. ECT can detect metabolic and blood flow states of an organ and is a dynamic, functional imaging technique. Currently, positron emission tomography (Positron Emission Computed Tomography, PET) and Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) are the more common ECT techniques. The core component of ECT is the probe assembly. The detection assembly includes a scintillation crystal and a photosensor coupled to each other. The 511keV high-energy photons (i.e., gamma photons) produced by the die out effect react inside the scintillation crystal and are converted into visible light subgroups. Currently, photosensors on the market generally employ a common photomultiplier tube (PM) or a silicon photomultiplier tube (SiPM). SiPM, an advanced photon detector, has excellent photon detection efficiency, excellent time resolution, and sensitivity to weak signals, which makes it dominant in high precision imaging applications. Unlike conventional photomultiplier tubes, sipms also have a relatively small volume and do not require high voltage power for operation. However, sipms are relatively expensive to manufacture, and the cost of the detector system tends to increase substantially, especially where large-scale SiPM arrays are required. Therefore, how to reduce the number of sipms used while maintaining image quality is an important direction to optimize the system design. Disclosure of Invention In order to at least partially solve the problems of the prior art, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a detection module including a plurality of scintillation crystals each having a first end face, a second end face opposite the first end face, and a side face connected between the first end face and the second end face, the plurality of scintillation crystals being arranged in an array along a predetermined arrangement path and side-by-side, a first reflective layer covering the side face of the plurality of scintillation crystals, the first reflective layer between any adjacent scintillation crystals on the predetermined arrangement path including a light transmissive window to form an optical path through all scintillation crystals and the light transmissive window on the predetermined arrangement path, a plurality of photosensors fewer in number than the plurality of scintillation crystals, the plurality of photosensors coupled to the first end face of at least a portion of the plurality of scintillation crystals such that visible photons within each of the plurality of scintillation crystals are transmissible to at least two of the plurality of photosensors via the optical path, and a second reflective layer covering the second end face of the plurality of scintillation crystals. The plurality of photosensors is illustratively disposed corresponding to a portion of the predetermined routing path such that a projection of the plurality of photosensors onto the first end face of the plurality of scintillation crystals covers only a portion of the first end face of the plurality of scintillation crystals. The plurality of photosensors is illustratively disposed corresponding to a portion of the plurality of scintillation crystals, and the first end face of each of the portion of the plurality of scintillation crystals is coupled to the corresponding photosensor. Illustratively, each of the plurality of scintillation crystals is coupled to the photosensor such that at least a portion of adjacent scintillation crystals are commonly coupled to the same photosensor. Illustratively, the plurality of scintillation crystals includes a first scintillation crystal, a second scintillation crystal, and third and fourth scintillation crystals positioned therebetween along a predetermined routing, the third scintillation crystal being adjacent to the first scintillation crystal, the fourth scintillation crystal being adjacent to the second scintillation crystal, the plurality of photosensors including a first photosensor and a second photosensor, wherein a first end of the first scintillation crystal is coupled to the first photosensor, a first end of the sec