Micro-scale particle tracking using hybrid detectors

Abstract

Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT) techniques allow the tracking of a radioactive tracer particle moving within a system of flow, enabling non-invasive study of dynamic systems. On the micro-scale, PEPT performance is limited by the achievable activity in radiolabelling a suitable tracer particle, and the fixed geometry of conventional detector systems. To enable application of PEPT towards these scales advanced instrumentation is required, and a hybrid detection system has been developed combining scintillator and semiconductor devices. A bismuth germanate oxide (BGO) scintillator array consisting of 1024 detector elements derived from CTI/Siemens PET scanners (512 pixels of 6.75 x 6.25 x 30 mm³ and 512 pixels of 4.1 x 4.0 x 30 mm³) forms a field of view of 150 x 196 x 101 mm³. A pair of pixelated cadmium zinc telluride room temperature semiconductors (9680 pixels of 1.8 x 1.8 x 0.5 mm³) form a high spatial resolution region of 62 x 42 x 20 mm³ placed within the larger field of view. The design choice maximizes absolute efficiency by merit of the scintillators and enhances spatial resolution through the semiconductors. Energy and timing resolutions of the BGO elements were determined, and sensitivity profiles of the system modelled numerically, enabling the characterization of the system absolute efficiency and spatial resolution. The results suggest the applicability of PEPT in the study of microscale flows for the first time, including investigating flows in capillaries and micro-fluidic devices.