Assessment of a high-resolution candidate detector for prostate time-of-flight positron emission tomography

We report on the measurements performed using a (22)Na source on a detector element for a magnetic resonance imaging-compatible time-of-flight-positron emission tomography endorectal prostate probe, with depth-of-interaction sensitivity. It is made from a LYSO scintillator crystal, wrapped with Lumirror, readout at both ends by means of silicon photomultipliers. With a detailed description of the data analysis procedure, we show that our results point to a 400 ps coincidence resolving time and, at the same time, to a depth-of-interaction resolution of 1 mm. These appealing features, along with the tiny 1.5 mm × 1.5 mm × 10 mm crystal size, are quite promising in view of the realization of a prototype probe.