Speaker
Description
Total-body PET (TB-PET) offers transformative gains in sensitivity, dynamic imaging capability, and quantitative performance, but current implementations rely on extended axial full-ring geometries associated with high scintillator cost and system complexity. Within the PetVision project, we investigate an alternative paradigm in which extreme timing performance enables simplified, modular detector geometries scalable toward the total-body regime.
The PetVision concept is based on opposing planar detector modules composed of fast pixelated scintillators, low-crosstalk NUV-sensitive SiPM arrays, and high-bandwidth ASIC readout with on-chip digitization. The architecture is intrinsically modular: detector panels can be extended axially and tiled to progressively approach TB-PET configurations, while maintaining flexibility in system geometry and deployment.
The central hypothesis is that coincidence time resolution (CTR) below 100 ps can compensate for limited angular coverage and enable high-quality image reconstruction in sparse detector layouts. Monte Carlo simulations and reconstruction studies demonstrate that as timing performance improves, limited-angle artefacts are strongly suppressed, and planar configurations approach the image quality of conventional clinical systems despite significantly reduced detector material.
Crucially, recent single-pixel timing performance confirms the feasibility of this approach, demonstrating that the required timing precision can be achieved at the detector level. Furthermore, we report experimental results obtained with a predecessor ASIC to the FastIC+ chip, which will be used in the PetVision demonstrator. These measurements validate the capability of the readout chain to preserve ultrafast timing information and support the targeted sub-100 ps system performance.
In addition to timing, system scalability is addressed through high-density integration concepts, including 2.5D interconnect architectures that minimize parasitic effects and enable compact module design. Combined with ongoing developments in low-crosstalk SiPMs and optimized scintillators, this provides a realistic pathway from laboratory demonstrators to large-area detector panels.
This work outlines a new route toward TB-PET based on ultrafast timing, modular manufacturability, and reduced material usage. Rather than scaling conventional ring geometries, the PetVision approach enables total-body coverage through detector tiling and timing-driven reconstruction. If validated at system level, this concept could significantly lower the barrier to TB-PET deployment and broaden access to high-performance molecular imaging.
| Track | TBPET |
|---|---|
| Presentation type | Oral |