A fast method for optical simulation of flood maps of light-sharing detector modules

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Instrumentation
• Computational Science

Background:

• Accurate optical simulation of detector modules is crucial for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) system design.
• Existing simulation toolkits like GATE are computationally intensive for complex light-sharing configurations, hindering efficient design.
• The need for faster, reliable simulation methods for PET detector modules is evident.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel, accelerated approach for optical simulation of PET detector modules.
• To improve the efficiency of photon tracking in detector modules with specific material properties and designs.
• To validate the new simulation approach against established methods and experimental data.

Main Methods:

• Developed a fast optical simulation approach utilizing a simplified specular reflectance model.
• Implemented a structured light-tracking algorithm to expedite photon tracking in detector modules.
• Simulated conventional block detector designs with varying light guide patterns and compared results with GATE simulations.
• Validated the simulation approach through prototype detector construction and experimental flood map comparison.

Main Results:

• The new approach demonstrated a 200-600 times speed increase compared to GATE simulations for optical photon tracking.
• Simulated flood maps using the new approach showed comparable results to GATE simulations.
• Experimental validation confirmed that the simulated flood map closely matched the experimental flood map, showing uniformly distributed spots.

Conclusions:

• The presented approach offers a fast and reliable simulation tool for PET detector module development.
• This method is particularly beneficial for detector modules featuring polished surfaces and specular reflector materials.
• The validated simulation accelerates the design and optimization of light-sharing-based detector modules for PET systems.