Beta-ray imaging system with γ-ray coincidence for multiple-tracer imaging

Area of Science:

• Nuclear physics
• Medical imaging
• Radiochemistry

Background:

• Conventional beta-ray imaging systems struggle with multiple-tracer identification due to continuous energy spectra.
• Distinguishing between different beta-ray emitting radioisotopes is challenging with existing technologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a new beta-ray imaging system for multiple-tracer detection.
• To overcome the limitations of conventional systems in distinguishing radioisotopes by energy.

Main Methods:

• The system employs position-sensitive beta-ray (Ce-Doped (La, Gd)2Si2O7) and gamma-ray (BGO) detectors.
• Coincidence detection of beta-rays and gamma-rays was used to identify different isotopes.
• Performance was evaluated using point sources and phantom measurements with dual isotopes.

Main Results:

• The beta-ray detector achieved efficiencies of 14.3% for 45Ca and 21.9% for 90Sr/90Y.
• The gamma-ray detector achieved a total efficiency of 17.5% for 22Na.
• Successful extraction of dual isotope distributions was demonstrated in phantom experiments.

Conclusions:

• The developed beta-ray autoradiography system is feasible for imaging multiple isotopes.
• The system's ability to detect beta-gamma and positron emitters via coincidence gamma-ray detection opens new applications, including PET tracers.