An Application of Micro-channel Plate Photomultiplier Tube to Positron Emission Tomography

We are developing a Time-of-Flight Positron Emission Tomography detector using flat panel micro-channel plate photomultiplier tubes (MCP PMT). The high-speed waveform sampling data acquisition is adopted to exploit the fast time response of MCP PMT efficiently by using transmission-line readout scheme. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed detector, prototype detector modules were built using Photonis XP85022 MCP PMT, transmission-line board (TL), and high-speed waveform sampling electronics equipped with DRS4 chips. The MCP/TL module was coupled to single LYSO crystal, and experimental tests have been conducted in a coincidence setup to measure the responses to 511 keV annihilation photon. The details of the prototype module, experimental setup, and the preliminary results are presented and discussed.