EP-3540470-B1 - INTERACTION CHARACTERISTICS FROM A PLURALITY OF PIXELS

EP3540470B1EP 3540470 B1EP3540470 B1EP 3540470B1EP-3540470-B1

Inventors

CHERLIN, ALEXANDER
RADLEY, IAN
HUGG, JAMES WILLIAM

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20190314

Claims (12)

A computer implemented method, comprising: receiving (501) a plurality of responses to an interaction occurring within a photon detector pixel array, wherein the photon detector pixel array comprises a plurality of anode pixels and a cathode, wherein the plurality of responses corresponds to responses from a central anode pixel and one or more neighbouring anode pixels of the plurality of pixels, without requiring responses from the cathode of the photon detector pixel array; identifying (502) a subset of the plurality of anode pixels, the subset associated with the interaction, the plurality of anode pixels comprising the central anode pixel and the one or more neighbouring anode pixels, wherein each of the subset of the plurality of pixels corresponds to at least one of the plurality of responses, wherein each response by the plurality of anode pixels comprises at least one of a positive polarity peak signal amplitude and a negative polarity peak signal amplitude; determining (503), from the plurality of responses, a characteristic of the interaction, wherein the characteristic comprises a position of the interaction comprising a depth of the interaction, wherein the determining the depth of the interaction comprises identifying a multidimensional cluster of peak signal amplitudes of the plurality of the responses without using any cathode signal to determine the characteristic of the interaction; recording (504) the interaction associated with the at least one determined characteristic; collecting a plurality of recorded interactions and associated determined characteristics; forming an image from the plurality of recorded interactions.
The method of claim 1, wherein the central anode pixel comprises the pixel having the highest amplitude response to the interaction.
The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristic comprises the energy of the interaction, wherein the determining the energy of the interaction comprises adding the plurality of responses.
The method of claim 1, wherein the interaction is associated with an incident photon or particle.
The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristic comprises a time of the interaction, wherein the determining the time of the interaction comprises determining the depth of the interaction, determining the times of the plurality of responses, and determining the intervals of time that are required for the plurality of anode pixels to provide the plurality of responses.
The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristic comprises a position of the interaction and wherein the determining the position comprises determining a sub-pixel position of the interaction by identifying an amount of interaction response by the central anode pixel and an amount of interaction response by at least one neighboring anode pixel.
The method of claim 1, wherein the photon detector pixel array comprises an array of pixelated semiconductor detectors selected from the group consisting of: CdZnTe, CdTe, HgI, Si, and direct-conversion materials.
An apparatus, comprising: a photon detector pixel array comprising a plurality of anode pixels and a cathode; a processor operatively coupled to the photon detector pixel array; a memory device that stores instructions executable by the processor to: receive a plurality of responses to an interaction occurring within the photon detector pixel array, wherein the photon detector pixel array comprises a plurality of anode pixels, wherein the plurality of responses corresponds to responses from a central anode pixel and one or more neighbouring anode pixels of the plurality of pixels, without requiring responses from the cathode of the photon detector pixel array; identify a subset of the plurality of anode pixels, the subset associated with the interaction, the plurality of anode pixels comprising the central anode pixel and the one or more neighbouring anode pixels, wherein each of the subset of the plurality of pixels corresponds to at least one of the plurality of responses, wherein each response by the plurality of anode pixels comprises at least one of a positive polarity peak signal amplitude and a negative polarity peak signal amplitude; and determine, from the plurality of responses, a characteristic of the interaction, wherein the characteristic comprises a position of the interaction comprising a depth of the interaction, wherein the determining the depth of the interaction comprises identifying a multidimensional cluster of peak signal amplitudes of the plurality of the responses without using any cathode signal to determine the characteristic of the interaction; record the interaction associated with the at least one determined characteristic; collect a plurality of recorded interactions and associated determined characteristics; wherein the memory device stores instructions executable by the processor to form an image from the plurality of recorded interactions.
The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the characteristic comprises the energy of the interaction, wherein the determining the energy of the interaction comprises adding the plurality of responses.
The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the interaction is associated with an incident photon or particle.
The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the photon detector pixel array comprises an array of pixelated semiconductor detectors selected from the group consisting of: CdZnTe, CdTe, HgI, Si, and direct-conversion materials.
A computer program product, comprising: a storage device that stores code, the code being executable by a processor operatively couple to a photon detector pixel array of an apparatus of claim 8 and comprising: code that receives a plurality of responses to an interaction occurring within the photon detector pixel array, wherein the photon detector pixel array comprises a plurality of anode pixels and a cathode, wherein the plurality of responses corresponds to responses from a central anode pixel and one or more neighbouring anode pixels of the plurality of pixels, without requiring responses from the cathode of the photon detector pixel array; code identifies a subset of the plurality of anode pixels, the subset associated with the interaction, the plurality of anode pixels comprising the central anode pixel and the one or more neighbouring anode pixels, wherein each of the subset of the plurality of pixels corresponds to at least one of the plurality of responses, wherein each response by the plurality of anode pixels comprises at least one of a positive polarity peak signal amplitude and a negative polarity peak signal amplitude; and code that determines, from the plurality of responses, a characteristic of the interaction, wherein the characteristic comprises a position of the interaction comprising a depth of the interaction, wherein the determining the depth of the interaction comprises identifying a multidimensional cluster of peak signal amplitudes of the plurality of the responses without using any cathode signal to determine the characteristic of the interaction, wherein the characteristic comprises at least one of: time, position, and energy of the interaction code that records the interaction associated with the at least one determined characteristic; code that collects a plurality of recorded interactions and associated determined characteristics; wherein the code comprises code that forms an image from plurality of recorded interactions.

Description

BACKGROUND Imaging devices perform many different functions such as medical imaging, security screening, image capture, or the like. The source of the imaging may be a radiological source, visible light, non-visible light, or any type of source for which the imaging device is capable of detection. For example, in a medical setting, a patient may be injected with a radiopharmaceutical tracer agent and the imaging device may capture the emission of gamma photon radiation from the patient's body for diagnostic analysis. The imaging device may include a gamma camera sensitive to the emission source, for example, a camera including a specific substance or object that is sensitive to or reacts to the emission source. The camera may contain individual pixels which may allow the image to determine the location, energy, timing, and intensity of the emitted signal. US2013/193337 describes a method for providing a shared charge in pixelated image detectors are provided. The method includes providing a plurality of pixels for a pixelated solid state photon detector in a configuration such that a charge distribution is detected by at least two pixels and obtaining charge information from the at least two pixels. The method further includes determining a position of an interaction of the charge distribution with the plurality of pixels based on the obtained charge information. BRIEF SUMMARY In summary, one aspect provides a method in accordance with the claims appended hereto. Another aspect provides an apparatus in accordance with the claims appended hereto. A further aspect provides a product, in accordance with the claims appended hereto. The foregoing is a summary and thus may contain simplifications, generalizations, and omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. For example, in some embodiments, the method or the apparatus or the product may comprise any of the following features alone or in combination. The plurality of pixels comprises a central pixel and a plurality of neighboring pixels, wherein the central pixel may comprise the pixel having the highest amplitude response to the interaction. The characteristic may comprise the energy of the interaction, wherein the determining the energy of the interaction comprises adding the plurality of responses. The interaction is associated with an incident photon or particle. Each response by the plurality of pixels may comprise at least one of a positive polarity peak signal amplitude and a negative polarity peak signal amplitude. The characteristic may comprise a position of the interaction comprising a depth of the interaction, wherein the determining the depth of the interaction comprises identifying a multidimensional cluster of peak signal amplitudes of the plurality of the responses. The characteristic may comprise a time of the interaction, wherein the determining the time of the interaction comprises determining the depth of the interaction, determining the times of the plurality of responses, and determining the intervals of time that are required for the plurality of pixels to provide the plurality of responses. The characteristic may comprise a position of the interaction and wherein the determining the position comprises determining a sub-pixel position of the interaction by identifying an amount of interaction response by the central pixel and an amount of interaction response by at least one neighboring pixel. The plurality of responses may not correspond to responses from a cathode of the photon detector pixel array. The photon detector pixel array may comprise an array of pixelated semiconductor detectors selected from the group consisting of: CdZnTe, CdTe, HgI, Si, and direct-conversion materials. For a better understanding of the embodiments, together with other and further features and advantages thereof, reference is made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 illustrates an example of information handling device circuitry.FIG. 2 illustrates another example of information handling device circuitry.FIG. 3 illustrates another embodiment of an imaging device that may use the disclosed embodiments.FIG. 4 illustrates a further example of information handling device circuitry.FIG. 5 illustrates a method of determining a characteristic of an interaction using a plurality of pixels.FIG. 6 illustrates an interaction and the effect of the interaction on a plurality of pixels. DETAILED DESCRIPTION It will be readily understood that the components of the embodiments, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations in addition to the described example embodiments. Thus, the following m