CN114236592A - Combined imaging detector module, preparation method thereof and imaging device - Google Patents
Combined imaging detector module, preparation method thereof and imaging device Download PDFInfo
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- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01T—MEASUREMENT OF NUCLEAR OR X-RADIATION
- G01T1/00—Measuring X-radiation, gamma radiation, corpuscular radiation, or cosmic radiation
- G01T1/16—Measuring radiation intensity
- G01T1/20—Measuring radiation intensity with scintillation detectors
- G01T1/2018—Scintillation-photodiode combinations
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- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01T—MEASUREMENT OF NUCLEAR OR X-RADIATION
- G01T1/00—Measuring X-radiation, gamma radiation, corpuscular radiation, or cosmic radiation
- G01T1/16—Measuring radiation intensity
- G01T1/20—Measuring radiation intensity with scintillation detectors
- G01T1/2008—Measuring radiation intensity with scintillation detectors using a combination of different types of scintillation detectors, e.g. phoswich
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- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01T—MEASUREMENT OF NUCLEAR OR X-RADIATION
- G01T1/00—Measuring X-radiation, gamma radiation, corpuscular radiation, or cosmic radiation
- G01T1/16—Measuring radiation intensity
- G01T1/20—Measuring radiation intensity with scintillation detectors
- G01T1/202—Measuring radiation intensity with scintillation detectors the detector being a crystal
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- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01T—MEASUREMENT OF NUCLEAR OR X-RADIATION
- G01T1/00—Measuring X-radiation, gamma radiation, corpuscular radiation, or cosmic radiation
- G01T1/16—Measuring radiation intensity
- G01T1/20—Measuring radiation intensity with scintillation detectors
- G01T1/208—Circuits specially adapted for scintillation detectors, e.g. for the photo-multiplier section
Abstract
The invention discloses a combined imaging detector module, a preparation method thereof and imaging equipment, wherein the combined imaging detector module comprises a plurality of layers of scintillation crystal arrays with the same peripheral size, a first photoelectric detector array and a second photoelectric detector array, wherein the crystal pixel size of each layer of scintillation crystal array is increased layer by layer along the ray incidence direction, the number of the crystal pixels of each layer of scintillation crystal array is integral multiple of the number of the crystal pixels of the scintillation crystal array at the ray emergence end, the first photoelectric detector array is coupled on the scintillation crystal array at the ray incidence end, the second photoelectric detector array is coupled on the scintillation crystal array at the ray emergence end, and the outermost layer of the plurality of layers of scintillation crystal arrays is applied with a reflecting layer; the first photoelectric detector array is used for detecting low-energy rays, and the first photoelectric detector array and the second photoelectric detector array are used for detecting high-energy rays. The combined imaging detector module can detect high-energy and low-energy rays simultaneously.
Description
Technical Field
The invention relates to the technical field of electronic imaging, in particular to a combined imaging detector module, a preparation method of the combined imaging detector module and imaging equipment.
Background
Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT), Positron Emission Tomography (PET), and Computed Tomography (CT) are currently common techniques for imaging a human body or a portion thereof. Meanwhile, in some application scenarios, the requirement that the PET device and the SPECT device are required to perform common imaging at the same time is met, so that the development process of the disease is observed by using the imaging characteristics of the PET device and the SPECT device.
However, different types of imaging devices can only detect rays with different energies (including high-energy rays and low-energy rays), and therefore, the three types of imaging devices need to respectively adopt different detectors, frames, electronic reading devices, data acquisition devices and data processing mechanisms, which greatly increases the structural complexity and manufacturing cost of the fusion imaging device, and moreover, when the different types of imaging devices perform fusion imaging, alignment of imaging regions is also needed, which further increases the difficulty of fusion imaging of the different types of imaging devices.
Disclosure of Invention
In view of this, the present application provides a combined imaging detector module, a manufacturing method thereof and an imaging device, and mainly aims to solve the technical problems of complex structure and high manufacturing cost of an imaging device for detecting rays with multiple energies.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a combined imaging detector module comprising a plurality of layers of scintillation crystal arrays of equal peripheral dimensions, and a first photodetector array and a second photodetector array, wherein,
the size of the crystal pixels of each layer of scintillation crystal array is increased layer by layer along the ray incidence direction, the number of the crystal pixels of each layer of scintillation crystal array is integral multiple of the number of the crystal pixels of the scintillation crystal array at the ray emergence end, the first photoelectric detector array is coupled on the scintillation crystal array at the ray incidence end, the second photoelectric detector array is coupled on the scintillation crystal array at the ray emergence end, and the outermost layer of the multilayer scintillation crystal array is provided with a reflecting layer; the first photoelectric detector array is used for detecting low-energy rays, and the first photoelectric detector array and the second photoelectric detector array are used for jointly detecting high-energy rays.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a combined imaging detector module, the method being for manufacturing a combined imaging detector module according to any one of the above embodiments, the method comprising:
selecting scintillation crystal arrays with various crystal pixel sizes, wherein the peripheral sizes of all the scintillation crystal arrays are the same;
superposing the plurality of scintillation crystal arrays according to the sequence of the sizes of the crystal pixels from small to large, and coupling the plurality of scintillation crystal arrays through optical cement to form a multilayer scintillation crystal array;
and respectively coupling a group of photoelectric detector arrays at two ends of the multi-layer scintillation crystal array, and applying a reflecting layer on the outermost layer of the multi-layer scintillation crystal array to form a combined imaging detector module.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging apparatus comprising a combined imaging detector module according to any one of the embodiments described above.
According to the combined imaging detector module, the preparation method thereof and the imaging device, the multiple layers of scintillation crystal arrays with the same peripheral size are arranged in the order of the sizes of crystal pixels from small to large, the number of the crystal pixels of each layer of scintillation crystal array is set to be integral multiple of the number of the crystal pixels of the scintillation crystal array at the ray exit end, and the two ends of the multiple layers of scintillation crystal arrays are respectively coupled with the photoelectric detector arrays capable of detecting different energy rays simultaneously, so that the high-energy rays and the low-energy rays with different spatial resolution requirements can be jointly detected, and the problems of complex mechanical structure, high manufacturing cost and high image registration difficulty caused by the use of multiple independent imaging systems are solved. In addition, the combined imaging detector module can complete the identification of the multilayer crystal only by two groups of photoelectric detection elements, and the multilayer scintillation crystal array and the photoelectric detection elements can form an integral array in a coupling mode, so that the mechanical strength of the detector module is effectively increased, and the process complexity and the structure complexity of the detection module are reduced.
The foregoing description is only an overview of the technical solutions of the present application, and the present application can be implemented according to the content of the description in order to make the technical means of the present application more clearly understood, and the following detailed description of the present application is given in order to make the above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present application more clearly understandable.
Drawings
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the invention without limiting the invention. In the drawings:
FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a multi-modality imaging detector provided in the prior art;
FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a modular imaging detector module according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional schematic view of another combined imaging detector module provided by an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a scintillation photon transmission path of a combined imaging detector module according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another modular imaging detector module provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another modular imaging detector module provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method of fabricating a modular imaging detector module according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 8 is a schematic flow chart diagram illustrating another method of fabricating a combined imaging detector module according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 9a is a simulation diagram illustrating the depth of interaction inside the crystal when a combined imaging detector module detects low-energy rays according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 9b is a simulation diagram of a low-energy radiation positioning spectrum recognized by a photodetector array at a radiation incident end of a combined imaging detector module according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 9c is a schematic diagram illustrating a simulation of the depth of interaction inside the crystal when the combined imaging detector module detects high-energy rays according to the embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 9d is a simulation diagram illustrating a light collection ratio of a photodetector array at a ray incident end and a ray exiting end of a combined imaging detector module according to an embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 9e is a simulation diagram illustrating a positioning spectrum of a high-energy ray by a photodetector array at a ray exit end of a combined imaging detector module according to an embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 9f is a simulation diagram illustrating a positioning spectrum of a high-energy ray by a photodetector array at a ray incident end of a combined imaging detector module according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 10a is a simulation diagram illustrating a light collection ratio of a photodetector array at a radiation entrance end and a radiation exit end of another combined imaging detector module provided by an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 10b is a simulation diagram of a positioning spectrum of a high-energy ray by a photo-detector array at a ray exit end of another combined imaging detector module provided by the embodiment of the invention;
fig. 10c is a simulation diagram of a positioning spectrum of a high-energy ray by a photodetector array at a ray incident end of another combined imaging detector module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed Description
The invention will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in conjunction with embodiments. It should be noted that the embodiments and features of the embodiments in the present application may be combined with each other without conflict.
At present, in the technical field of electronic imaging, for rays with different energies, different imaging devices (such as a PET device, a CT device, and a SPECT device) need to be adopted for detection, and for different imaging devices, different detectors, electronic readout devices, and data acquisition devices need to be provided, which greatly improves the cost and structural complexity of fusion imaging performed by a plurality of imaging devices. Meanwhile, in order to obtain image fusion results and combined analysis of different imaging devices, imaging intervals among multiple imaging devices need to be kept consistent, and higher requirements are put forward on bed positioning and patient holding positions.
For example, in performing fusion images of PET and CT, two sets of completely independent gantry and detector are required, which requires a rather complicated mechanical structure, and at the same time, two sets of equipment also require two completely independent imaging equipment, which further increases the cost of fusion imaging. Furthermore, in order to obtain the fused PET and CT image results, the patient must be moved relative to the two gantries, which requires precise positioning and consistent patient position, which further increases the difficulty of the fused PET and CT images.
In view of the above problems, a design concept of a multi-modal imaging detector is presented at present, as shown in fig. 1, the multi-modal imaging detector superposes a plurality of detector modules, and can detect high-energy rays and low-energy rays respectively and independently, wherein the plurality of detector modules can share one set of rack. Although the imaging detector seems to be capable of detecting two kinds of ray signals, the imaging detector needs to detect the two kinds of ray signals respectively and independently, and is inconvenient to use. Meanwhile, there are multiple groups of photodetecting elements between the detector modules in different layers, which causes more attenuation and scattering of the radiation, thereby affecting the imaging quality. In addition, the imaging detector needs to be provided with more mechanical structures and photoelectric detection elements in the preparation process, so that the imaging detector is difficult to form into a whole, and the manufacturing cost, the process complexity and the mechanical mechanism complexity of the imaging detector are further increased.
Based on this, aiming at the problems of complex structure, high manufacturing cost and high image registration difficulty of the imaging detector for detecting rays with multiple energies in the prior art, the embodiment provides a combined imaging detector module, as shown in fig. 2, the combined imaging detector module includes a plurality of layers of scintillation crystal arrays with the same peripheral size, and a first photodetector array and a second photodetector array coupled at two ends of the plurality of layers of scintillation crystal arrays, wherein the crystal pixel size of each layer of scintillation crystal array increases layer by layer along the ray incidence direction, and the number of crystal pixels of each layer of scintillation crystal array is an integral multiple of the number of crystal pixels of the scintillation crystal array at the ray emergence end. Furthermore, the first photoelectric detector array is coupled on the scintillation crystal array at the ray incidence end, the second photoelectric detector array is coupled on the scintillation crystal array at the ray emergence end, and a reflecting layer is applied to the outermost layer of the multilayer scintillation crystal array. In this embodiment, the first photodetector array may be configured to detect low-energy radiation, and the first photodetector array and the second photodetector array may be configured to detect high-energy radiation together.
Specifically, the multi-layer scintillation crystal array can be coupled by optical cement to form an array whole. The size of the crystal pixel of the scintillation crystal close to the incident direction of the ray is small, the scintillation crystal can be used for detecting low-energy rays, such as X-rays of a CT bulb tube, and the like. Correspondingly, the size of the crystal pixel of the scintillation crystal far away from the ray emitting direction is larger, and the scintillation crystal can be used for detecting high-energy rays, such as gamma rays, and the like.
Further, in the above-mentioned multilayer scintillation crystal array, the number of crystal pixels of each layer of scintillation crystal array is an integral multiple of the number of crystal pixels of the scintillation crystal array at the farthest end (i.e., the scintillation crystal array at the ray exit end). For example, the detector module is composed of three layers of scintillation crystal arrays, and the scintillation crystal array at the farthest end is composed of a × a crystals of b (mm) × b (mm), so that the number of crystal pixels of the scintillation crystal array at the middle layer is an integer multiple N of a, and the number of pixels of the scintillation crystal array at the bottom layer (i.e., the scintillation crystal array at the ray incidence end) is M times a, where M > N. The pixel sizes of the crystals of the two layers are B/N and B/M, respectively. The design of the detector can ensure that crosstalk does not exist between A and A optical paths which are finally formed, and photon loss caused by bridging is reduced, so that a clearer and divisible position map can be formed.
In this embodiment, when detecting high-energy rays, all the scintillation crystal arrays and the photodetector arrays may participate, including the scintillation crystal array and the first photodetector array whose front ends are used to detect low-energy rays. Furthermore, a group of photodetector arrays are respectively coupled to two ends (namely, the ray incident end and the ray emergent end) of the multi-layer scintillation crystal array, wherein the size of each photodetector array is respectively matched with the two ends of the multi-layer scintillation crystal array. And a reflecting layer is further applied to the outermost layer of the multilayer crystal array, wherein the reflecting layer can be applied in various ways, for example, the periphery of the multilayer scintillation crystal array and the periphery of the photodetector array can be integrally subjected to packaging treatment by using a reflecting material, and the like.
In the present embodiment, a cross-sectional view of the combined imaging detector module can be seen with reference to fig. 2 and 3. Wherein figure 2 provides a combined imaging detector module comprising two layers of scintillation crystal arrays and two groups of photodetector arrays, and figure 3 provides a combined imaging detector module comprising three layers of scintillation crystal arrays and two groups of photodetector arrays. The two layers of scintillation crystal arrays of the combined imaging detector module shown in fig. 2 are a scintillation crystal array 1 and a scintillation crystal array 2 respectively; the three layers of scintillation crystal arrays of the combined imaging detector module shown in fig. 3 are scintillation crystal array 1, scintillation crystal array 2 and scintillation crystal 3. The multi-layer scintillation crystal arrays of the two combined imaging detectors can be coupled through optical cement, the size of crystal pixels of each layer of scintillation crystal array in the multi-layer scintillation crystal array is increased layer by layer along the ray incidence direction, and the number of the crystal pixels of each layer of scintillation crystal array is integral multiple of the number of the crystal pixels of the scintillation crystal array at the ray emergence end.
Further, fig. 4 provides a schematic diagram of simulated transmission paths of scintillation photons, as shown in fig. 4, when a combined imaging detector module as shown in fig. 3 is used to detect low-energy rays and/or high-energy rays, no matter the rays are deposited on the scintillation crystal array 1 or on the scintillation crystal array 2 and the scintillation crystal 3, the photodetector arrays at both ends of the multi-layer scintillation crystal array can detect scintillation photons, but due to the difference in splitting of the scintillation crystals with respect to the rays, the transmission paths of photons of different energy rays may be different, and therefore, the obtained positioning information may also be different. In this embodiment, because the light path that combination formula formation of image detector module need guarantee between the multilayer scintillation crystal array communicates with each other, so only need two sets of photoelectric detection component can accomplish the discernment of multilayer crystal, and simultaneously, scintillation crystal array and photoelectric detector array all can directly use the optical cement to couple and form a whole array, and need not like the multimode formation of image detector among the prior art, need all bond the scintillation crystal at photoelectric detection component's tow sides, also need not to add extra mechanical structure and increase the mechanical strength of detector, and need not to add more detector components and carry out crystal identification. Therefore, the combined imaging detector module provided by the embodiment can effectively increase the overall mechanical strength of the detector, and reduce the manufacturing cost, the mechanical structure complexity and the process complexity.
In the above embodiment, the number of layers and the size of the scintillation crystal array are not limited, the placement position of the photoelectric detection elements in the photoelectric detection array is not limited, and double-end light collection can be obtained. It should be noted that the length of the scintillation crystal in the scintillation crystal array in this embodiment may be determined according to the material of the crystal and the maximum energy of the radiation to be detected, where the material of the scintillation crystal in each layer of the scintillation crystal array may be the same or different, and for example, the scintillation crystal may be made of an inorganic scintillation crystal, a ceramic scintillation crystal, or other materials. In addition, before the scintillation crystal is coupled into the scintillation crystal array, the front surface of the scintillation crystal needs to be pretreated, for example, polishing, sanding and the like can be performed, and the specific treatment mode can also be selected according to the actual requirement. Further, the photo-detection elements in the photo-detector array may be selected according to actual situations, for example, a photomultiplier tube (PMT), siPM, or photodiode may be selected as the photo-detection elements, and in addition, the size of the photo-detection elements may also be selected according to the size of the scintillation crystal and the readout design manner, which is not specifically limited herein.
The combined imaging detector module provided by the embodiment arranges the plurality of layers of scintillation crystal arrays with the same peripheral size in the order of the crystal pixel size from small to large, sets the number of the crystal pixels of each layer of scintillation crystal array as the integral multiple of the number of the crystal pixels of the scintillation crystal array at the ray exit end, and couples a group of photoelectric detector arrays capable of detecting different energy rays at two ends of the plurality of layers of scintillation crystal arrays respectively, so that high-energy rays and low-energy rays with different spatial resolution requirements can be jointly detected, and the problems of complex mechanical structure, high manufacturing cost and high image registration difficulty caused by using a plurality of independent imaging systems are avoided. In addition, the combined imaging detector module can complete the identification of the multilayer crystal only by two groups of photoelectric detection elements, and the multilayer scintillation crystal array and the photoelectric detection elements can form an integral array in a coupling mode, so that the mechanical strength of the detector module is effectively increased, and the process complexity and the structure complexity of the detection module are reduced.
In one embodiment, the combined imaging detector module can be used for detecting the incident position and the energy value of low-energy rays through the photon quantity distribution received by the first photoelectric detector array; and/or the system is used for detecting the incidence position, the energy value and the action depth of the high-energy ray through the ratio and the sum of the photon quantity distribution received by the first photoelectric detector array and the photon quantity distribution received by the second photoelectric detector array, wherein the photon quantity distribution is also called a ray positioning map and refers to the distribution condition of the photon quantity received by each photoelectric detection element in the photoelectric detector array in the whole photoelectric detector array. In this embodiment, when the combined imaging detector module is used to detect low-energy rays, the incident position of the low-energy rays can be calculated through the distribution of the number of photons received by the first photodetector array, and the energy value of the low-energy rays can be calculated through the sum of the number of photons received by the first photodetector array. Further, when the combined imaging detector module is used for detecting the high-energy rays, the incident position of the high-energy rays can be calculated through the photon quantity distribution received by the first photoelectric detector array and the photon quantity distribution received by the second photoelectric detector array, then the energy value of the high-energy rays can be calculated through the sum of the photon quantities received by the photoelectric detector arrays at the two ends, and finally the action depth of the high-energy rays can be obtained through the ratio of the photon quantities received by the photoelectric detector arrays at the two ends and the relation curve between the photon quantity ratio and the action depth.
Referring to fig. 2 and fig. 3, in this embodiment, when detecting low-energy rays, only the first photodetector array coupled to the ray incident end may be used to detect the low-energy rays, at this time, the low-energy rays are basically deposited in the scintillation crystal array with a small crystal pixel size, and the number of photons collected by the first photodetector array is much larger than that of the second photodetector array, so that the second photodetector array may not detect the low-energy rays, and only the number of photons received by the first photodetector array is used to perform position positioning and energy collection; when high-energy ray detection is carried out, the first photoelectric detector array coupled at the ray incidence end and the second photoelectric detector array coupled at the ray emergence end can be used for simultaneously detecting, so that the acting depth of the emergent ray in the detector is judged according to the light collection proportion of the photoelectric detector arrays at the two ends (the ray is deposited to different crystal depths, and the photon number collected by the double-end photoelectric detection elements is different), and the reconstruction deviation of the high-energy ray caused by the acting depth can be effectively corrected. Furthermore, if compton scattering of the radiation occurs within the crystal, a multilayer crystal can also be used to precisely locate the location of incidence of the radiation. Compton scattering (Compton scattering) refers to a phenomenon in which when an electromagnetic wave is scattered by charged particles, the wavelength increases. This embodiment is through carrying out the coupling through the optical cement with the scintillation crystal array of different crystal pixel sizes to adopt different reading modes to survey high energy ray and low energy ray respectively, can realize surveying low energy ray and high energy ray jointly, when saving the cost, can also solve the unable problem of accurate location of incident position that judges the rebuilding deviation problem that arouses and compton scattering effect of the depth of action of high energy ray.
In one embodiment, the number of layers of the multi-layer scintillation crystal array in the imaging detector module may be two or three, wherein each layer of scintillation crystal array of the multi-layer scintillation crystal array may be coupled by an optical adhesive, and crystals of the multi-layer scintillation crystal array may be coupled by a reflective layer. In the present embodiment, the number of layers of the multi-layer scintillation crystal array can be set to two or three, and it can be understood that an excessive number of crystal layers may result in an excessively complex photon transmission path, and in addition, may also result in an increased loss of photons during transmission, thereby resulting in a deterioration of detector properties (energy resolution and time resolution) during high-energy detection.
In other embodiments, the crystals of the scintillation crystal array at the ray incident end may be coupled by optical cement, and one or two layers of scintillation crystal arrays near the ray emergent end may be coupled by any one of a reflective layer, optical cement and air. It can be understood that the scintillation crystal array near the ray incidence end is mainly used for detecting low-energy rays, so in order to ensure the accuracy of the counting rate and the spatial resolution of the low-energy rays, the coupling can be performed through a reflecting material; the scintillation crystal array close to the ray exit end is mainly used for detecting high-energy rays, and the high-energy rays have no high requirements on counting rate and spatial resolution, so that the selectable coupling modes are wide, for example, any one of reflecting layer coupling, optical glue coupling and air coupling can be selected for coupling.
In the above embodiment, by way of example, the combined imaging detector module shown in fig. 2 and fig. 3 has only two layers of the scintillation crystal array of the combined imaging detector module shown in fig. 2, so that the crystals of the scintillation crystal array 1 can be coupled by the reflective layer, and the crystals of the scintillation crystal array 2 can be coupled by any one of the reflective layer, optical glue and air. Further, the scintillation crystal array of the combined imaging detector module shown in fig. 3 has three layers, so that the crystals of the scintillation crystal array 1 can be coupled by the reflective layer, and the crystals of the scintillation crystal array 2 and the scintillation crystal array 3 can be coupled by any one of the reflective layer, optical cement and air. This embodiment sets up to different coupling modes between the crystal through the scintillation crystal array with different crystal pixel sizes, can make the required spatial resolution and the count rate of combined type imaging detector module can compromise different energy ray detection when surveying low energy ray and high-energy ray to improve the detection precision of combined type imaging detector module, and reduce technology complexity.
In one embodiment, each photodetector element of a first photodetector array of an imaging detector module is coupled on a side surface of each crystal pixel of a scintillation crystal array at a radiation entrance end; each photodetector element of the second photodetector array is coupled to a front or side surface of each crystal pixel of the scintillator crystal array at the radiation exit end. In this embodiment, the ray incident end and the ray exit end both need to be bonded with a photodetection element, and each photodetection element of the first photodetector array needs to be coupled to a side surface of each crystal pixel of the scintillation crystal array at the ray incident end, and in this way, attenuation of the ray by the photodetection element at the ray incident end can be reduced, so that an artifact of a CT image or a calculation error caused by the artifact can be avoided. For example, as shown with reference to fig. 2-3, each photodetector element of the first photodetector array may be coupled to a side surface of each crystal pixel of the scintillator crystal array at the ray entrance end, each photodetector element of the second photodetector array may be coupled to a front surface of each crystal pixel of the scintillator crystal array at the ray exit end, and as shown with reference to fig. 5-6, each photodetector element of the first photodetector array and each photodetector element of the second photodetector array may be coupled to a side surface of each crystal pixel of the scintillator crystal array at the ray entrance end. It should be understood that fig. 2-3 and fig. 5-6 only show some schemes for setting the position of the photo-detecting element, and other schemes for expansion are not described in detail. The embodiment can effectively reduce the attenuation of rays by bonding the photoelectric detection elements on different positions of the crystal pixels of the ray incidence end and the ray emergence end, thereby improving the detection performance of the combined imaging detector.
In one embodiment, each photodetector element coupled on a crystal pixel side surface of the scintillation crystal array corresponds to one crystal pixel of the scintillation crystal array, and the length of the photodetector element coupled on the crystal pixel side surface of the scintillation crystal array is less than the length of the crystal pixel of the scintillation crystal array. In this embodiment, when the photodetection elements are bonded to the side surfaces of the crystal pixels, each crystal pixel of the scintillator crystal array needs to be bonded with one photodetection element, and therefore, the photodetection elements bonded to the side surfaces of the crystal pixels correspond one-to-one to the number of crystals at the end (the radiation entrance end and/or the radiation exit end) where the bonding is performed. Further, referring to fig. 5 and 6, the length of the photodetection element bonded to the side surface of the crystal pixel is less than or equal to the length of the crystal pixel of the radiation incident end and/or the radiation exit end, so that the photodetection element can realize the photon collection function of the radiation incident end and the radiation exit end.
In one embodiment, each photodetector element coupled on a front surface of a crystal pixel of the scintillation crystal array corresponds to one or more crystal pixels of the scintillation crystal array, and a peripheral dimension of the second photodetector array coupled on the front surface of the crystal pixel of the scintillation crystal array is the same as the peripheral dimension of the scintillation crystal array. In this embodiment, the number of the crystals at the ends where the photodetection element and the bonding method are coupled on the front surface of the crystal pixel (i.e. the ray exit end) may be one-to-one, or may be one-to-many, depending on the signal readout method of the photodetection element and the coupling method between the crystals at the two ends, for example, when the signal readout method of the photodetection element is the single readout method, the number of the crystals at the ends where the photodetection element and the bonding method are coupled may be set to one-to-one; when the signal reading mode of the photodetection element is the integral reading mode, the number of the crystals at the end where the photodetection element and the bonding mode are located may be set to be one-to-many, and so on. In addition, referring to fig. 2 and 3, the peripheral dimension of the photodetector array composed of the photodetector elements adhered to the front surface of the crystal pixels needs to be the same as the peripheral dimension of the multi-layered crystal array, so as to ensure that the photodetector array can form an array integral with the multi-layered scintillation crystal array, so as to apply the radiation layer on the outermost layer of the multi-layered scintillation crystal array.
In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, a method of making a combined imaging detector module is provided, comprising the steps of:
101. selecting scintillation crystal arrays with various crystal pixel sizes, wherein the periphery size of each scintillation crystal array is the same.
102. And superposing the plurality of scintillation crystal arrays according to the sequence of the sizes of the crystal pixels from small to large, and coupling the plurality of scintillation crystal arrays through optical cement to form a multilayer scintillation crystal array.
103. And respectively coupling a group of photoelectric detector arrays at two ends of the multi-layer scintillation crystal array, and applying a reflecting layer on the outermost layer of the multi-layer scintillation crystal array to form a combined imaging detector module.
In this embodiment, each layer of the scintillation crystal arrays of the combined imaging detector module are coupled by optical cement, wherein the crystal pixel size of each layer of the scintillation crystal arrays in the multiple layers of the scintillation crystal arrays is increased layer by layer, the peripheral size of each layer of the scintillation crystal arrays is the same, in addition, a group of photodetector arrays are respectively coupled to two ends of the multiple layers of the scintillation crystal arrays, and a reflective layer is further applied to the outermost layer of the multiple layers of the scintillation crystal arrays. In this embodiment, one end of the combined imaging detector module with a smaller crystal pixel size may be disposed at the radiation incident end of the imaging device, and one end of the combined imaging detector module with a larger crystal pixel size may be disposed at the radiation emitting end of the imaging device, so that the radiation emitted by the imaging device may form a light path in the multi-layer scintillation crystal array, and the two sets of photodetector arrays coupled to the radiation incident end and the radiation emitting end may jointly detect the high-energy radiation and/or the low-energy radiation emitted by the imaging device.
Further, in the above-mentioned multi-layer scintillation crystal array, the number of crystal pixels of each layer of scintillation crystal array may be an integral multiple of the number of crystal pixels of the scintillation crystal array at the farthest end (i.e., the scintillation crystal array at the ray exit end). For example, the detector module may be composed of three layers of scintillation crystal arrays, and the outermost scintillation crystal array is composed of a × a crystals of b (mm) × b (mm), so that the number of crystal pixels of the middle layer scintillation crystal array is an integer multiple N of a, and the pixels of the bottom layer scintillation crystal array (i.e., the scintillation crystal array at the ray incidence end) are M times a, where M > N. The pixel sizes of the crystals of the two layers are B/N and B/M, respectively. The design of the detector can ensure that crosstalk does not exist between A and A optical paths which are finally formed, and photon loss caused by bridging is reduced, so that a clearer and divisible position map can be formed.
In this embodiment, a cross-sectional view of the finally formed combined imaging detector module can be seen with reference to fig. 2 and 3. Wherein figure 2 provides a combined imaging detector module comprising two layers of scintillation crystal arrays and two groups of photodetector arrays, and figure 3 provides a combined imaging detector module comprising three layers of scintillation crystal arrays and two groups of photodetector arrays. The two layers of scintillation crystal arrays of the combined imaging detector module shown in fig. 2 are a scintillation crystal array 1 and a scintillation crystal array 2 respectively; the three layers of scintillation crystal arrays of the combined imaging detector module shown in fig. 3 are scintillation crystal array 1, scintillation crystal array 2 and scintillation crystal 3. The multi-layer scintillation crystal arrays of the two combined imaging detectors can be coupled through optical cement, the sizes of crystal pixels of each layer of scintillation crystal array in the multi-layer scintillation crystal array are increased layer by layer, and the number of the crystal pixels of each layer of scintillation crystal array is integral multiple of the number of the crystal pixels of the scintillation crystal array at the largest end of the crystal pixel size.
Further, fig. 4 provides a schematic diagram of simulated transmission paths of scintillation photons, as shown in fig. 4, when a combined imaging detector module as shown in fig. 3 is used to detect low-energy rays and/or high-energy rays, no matter the rays are deposited on the scintillation crystal array 1 or on the scintillation crystal array 2 and the scintillation crystal 3, the photodetector arrays at both ends of the multi-layer scintillation crystal array can detect scintillation photons, but due to the difference in splitting of the scintillation crystals with respect to the rays, the transmission paths of photons of different energy rays may be different, and therefore, the obtained positioning information may also be different. In this embodiment, because the light path that combination formula formation of image detector module need guarantee between the multilayer scintillation crystal array communicates with each other, so only need two sets of photoelectric detection component can accomplish the discernment of multilayer crystal, and simultaneously, scintillation crystal array and photoelectric detector array all can directly use the optical cement to couple and form a whole array, and need not like the multimode formation of image detector among the prior art, need all bond the scintillation crystal at photoelectric detection component's tow sides, also need not to add extra mechanical structure and increase the mechanical strength of detector, and need not to add more detector components and carry out crystal identification. Therefore, the combined imaging detector module provided by the embodiment can effectively increase the overall mechanical strength of the detector, and reduce the manufacturing cost, the mechanical structure complexity and the process complexity.
In the above embodiment, the number of layers and the size of the scintillation crystal array are not limited, the placement position of the photoelectric detection elements in the photoelectric detection array is not limited, and double-end light collection can be obtained. It should be noted that the length of the scintillation crystal in the scintillation crystal array in this embodiment may be determined according to the material of the crystal and the maximum energy of the radiation to be detected, where the material of the scintillation crystal in each layer of the scintillation crystal array may be the same or different, and for example, the scintillation crystal may be made of an inorganic scintillation crystal, a ceramic scintillation crystal, or other materials. In addition, before the scintillation crystal is coupled into the scintillation crystal array, the front surface of the scintillation crystal needs to be pretreated, for example, polishing, sanding and the like can be performed, and the specific treatment mode can also be selected according to the actual requirement. Further, the photo-detection elements in the photo-detector array may be selected according to actual situations, for example, a photomultiplier tube (PMT), siPM, or photodiode may be selected as the photo-detection elements, and in addition, the size of the photo-detection elements may also be selected according to the size of the scintillation crystal and the readout design manner, which is not specifically limited herein.
According to the preparation method of the combined imaging detector module provided by the embodiment, the multiple layers of crystal pixel sizes are arranged and overlapped in the order from small to large, the multiple layers of scintillation crystal arrays are coupled into the crystal array with communicated light paths through the optical cement, the two ends of the crystal array are respectively coupled with the group of photoelectric detector arrays and the reflecting layer is applied, so that the imaging detector module capable of jointly detecting the high-energy rays and the low-energy rays with different spatial resolution requirements can be manufactured, and the problems of complex mechanical structure, high manufacturing cost and high image registration difficulty caused by the use of multiple independent imaging systems are solved. In addition, the preparation method of the combined imaging detector module couples the multi-layer scintillation crystal array and the photoelectric detection element into an integral array through optical cement, so that the process complexity and the structure complexity of the detection module can be reduced, and the mechanical strength of the detector module can be increased.
In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 8, before step 101, the method for manufacturing the combined imaging detector module further comprises the following steps: firstly, selecting crystal pixels with various pixel sizes, preprocessing the front surface of each crystal pixel, such as sanding or polishing, and then respectively performing coupling processing on the crystal pixels with various pixel sizes to form scintillation crystal arrays with various crystal pixel sizes, wherein the periphery sizes of the scintillation crystal arrays are the same. In this embodiment, the scintillation crystals of the same crystal pixel size need to be coupled into one scintillation crystal array, and the peripheral sizes of the scintillation crystal arrays of all kinds of crystal pixel sizes are the same. Wherein, the scintillation crystals can be coupled through the reflecting layer. In other embodiments, the crystals of the scintillation crystal array at the ray incident end may be coupled by optical cement, and one or two layers of scintillation crystal arrays near the ray emergent end may be coupled by any one of a reflective layer, optical cement and air. It can be understood that the scintillation crystal array with the smaller crystal pixel size is mainly used for detecting low-energy rays, so that in order to ensure the accuracy of the counting rate and the spatial resolution of the low-energy rays, coupling can be performed through a reflecting material; the scintillation crystal array with larger crystal pixel size can be mainly used for detecting high-energy rays which have no high requirements on counting rate and spatial resolution, so that the selectable coupling modes are wider, such as the selectable coupling mode of any one of reflecting layer coupling, optical glue coupling and air coupling. In addition, before the scintillation crystal is coupled into the scintillation crystal array, the front surface of the scintillation crystal may be pretreated, for example, polishing and frosting may be performed, and it is understood that the pretreatment mode of the scintillation crystal may be selected according to actual requirements, and the embodiment is not limited specifically herein.
In one embodiment, the step 103 may be implemented by: and respectively bonding a group of photodetector arrays on the front surface or the side surface of each crystal pixel at two ends of the multilayer scintillation crystal array, and then packaging the periphery of the multilayer scintillation crystal array by using a reflecting material. In the present embodiment, the photodetector array includes a plurality of photodetector elements, wherein each photodetector element is attached to the front or side surface of each crystal pixel at both ends of the multilayer scintillator crystal array by optical glue. In this embodiment, each photodetector element of the photodetector array at the end of the scintillator crystal array where the crystal pixel size is smallest can be coupled on the side surface of each crystal pixel of the scintillator crystal array; each photodetector element of the photodetector array at the end of the crystal pixel array having the largest dimension is coupled to a front or side surface of each crystal pixel of the scintillation crystal array. For example, as shown with reference to fig. 2-3, each photodetector element of the first photodetector array is coupled to a side surface of each crystal pixel of the scintillator crystal array at the ray entrance end, and each photodetector element of the second photodetector array is coupled to a front surface of each crystal pixel of the scintillator crystal array at the ray exit end, and as shown with reference to fig. 5-6, each photodetector element of the first photodetector array and each photodetector element of the second photodetector array is coupled to a side surface of each crystal pixel of the scintillator crystal array at the ray entrance end. It should be understood that fig. 2-3 and fig. 5-6 only show some schemes for setting the position of the photo-detecting element, and other schemes for expansion are not described in detail. The embodiment can reduce the attenuation of rays by bonding the photoelectric detection elements at different positions at two ends of the multi-layer scintillation crystal array, thereby improving the detection performance of the combined imaging detector.
In the above-described embodiment, each of the photodetecting elements coupled on the crystal pixel side surface of the scintillator crystal array corresponds to one crystal pixel of the scintillator crystal array, and the length of the photodetecting element coupled on the crystal pixel side surface of the scintillator crystal array is smaller than the length of the crystal pixel of the scintillator crystal array. In the present embodiment, when the photodetection elements are bonded to the side surfaces of the crystal pixels, one photodetection element needs to be bonded to each crystal pixel of the scintillator crystal array, and therefore, the number of crystals at the end (the radiation incident end and/or the radiation exit end) where the photodetection elements are bonded to the side surfaces of the crystal pixels is one-to-one with the bonding method. Further, referring to fig. 5 and 6, the length of the photodetection element bonded to the side surface of the crystal pixel is smaller than the length of the crystal pixel of the radiation incident end and/or the radiation exit end, so that the photodetection element can realize the photon collection function of the radiation incident end and the radiation exit end.
In the above-described embodiments, each photodetector element coupled on the front surface of a crystal pixel of the scintillation crystal array corresponds to one or more crystal pixels of the scintillation crystal array, and the peripheral dimension of the second photodetector array coupled on the front surface of a crystal pixel of the scintillation crystal array is the same as the peripheral dimension of the scintillation crystal array. In this embodiment, the number of the crystals at the ends where the photodetection element and the bonding method are coupled on the front surface of the crystal pixel (i.e. the ray exit end) may be one-to-one, or may be one-to-many, depending on the signal readout method of the photodetection element and the coupling method between the crystals at the two ends, for example, when the signal readout method of the photodetection element is the single readout method, the number of the crystals at the ends where the photodetection element and the bonding method are coupled may be set to one-to-one; when the signal reading mode of the photodetection element is the integral reading mode, the number of the crystals at the end where the photodetection element and the bonding mode are located may be set to be one-to-many, and so on. In addition, referring to fig. 2 and 3, the peripheral dimension of the photodetector array composed of the photodetector elements adhered to the front surface of the crystal pixels needs to be the same as the peripheral dimension of the multi-layered crystal array, so as to ensure that the photodetector array can form an array integral with the multi-layered scintillation crystal array, so as to apply the radiation layer on the outermost layer of the multi-layered scintillation crystal array.
In one embodiment, there is also provided an imaging apparatus comprising the combined imaging detector module of any of the above embodiments. The combined imaging detector module comprises a plurality of layers of scintillation crystal arrays with the same peripheral size, and a first photoelectric detector array and a second photoelectric detector array which are coupled at two ends of the plurality of layers of scintillation crystal arrays, wherein the size of crystal pixels of each layer of scintillation crystal array is increased layer by layer along the ray incidence direction, and the number of crystal pixels of each layer of scintillation crystal array is integral multiple of the number of crystal pixels of the scintillation crystal array at the ray emergence end. Furthermore, the first photoelectric detector array is coupled on the scintillation crystal array at the ray incidence end, the second photoelectric detector array is coupled on the scintillation crystal array at the ray emergence end, and a reflecting layer is applied to the outermost layer of the multilayer scintillation crystal array. In this embodiment, the first photodetector array may be configured to detect low-energy radiation, and the first photodetector array and the second photodetector array may be configured to detect high-energy radiation together.
Specifically, the multi-layer scintillation crystal array can be coupled by optical cement to form a whole detector array. The size of the crystal pixel of the scintillation crystal close to the incident direction of the ray is small, the scintillation crystal can be used for detecting low-energy rays, such as X-rays of a CT bulb tube, and the like. Correspondingly, the size of the crystal pixel of the scintillation crystal far away from the incident direction of the ray is larger, and the scintillation crystal can be used for detecting high-energy rays, such as gamma rays, and the like.
Further, in the above-mentioned multilayer scintillation crystal array, the number of crystal pixels of each layer of scintillation crystal array is an integral multiple of the number of crystal pixels of the scintillation crystal array at the farthest end (i.e., the scintillation crystal array at the ray exit end). For example, the detector module is composed of three layers of scintillation crystal arrays, and the scintillation crystal array at the farthest end is composed of a × a crystals of b (mm) × b (mm), so that the number of crystal pixels of the scintillation crystal array at the middle layer is an integer multiple N of a, and the number of pixels of the scintillation crystal array at the bottom layer (i.e., the scintillation crystal array at the ray incidence end) is M times a, where M > N. The pixel sizes of the crystals of the two layers are B/N and B/M, respectively. The design of the detector can ensure that crosstalk does not exist between A and A optical paths which are finally formed, and photon loss caused by bridging is reduced, so that a clearer and divisible position map can be formed.
In the present embodiment, when detecting high-energy rays, all the scintillation crystals and the photodetectors may participate, including the scintillation crystal and the photodetector whose front end is used for detecting low-energy rays. Furthermore, a group of photodetector arrays are respectively coupled to two ends (i.e. the incident end and the emergent end of the ray) of the multi-layer scintillation crystal array, wherein the size of the photodetector arrays can be respectively matched with the two ends of the multi-layer scintillation crystal array. And a reflecting layer is further applied to the outermost layer of the multilayer crystal array, wherein the reflecting layer can be applied in various ways, for example, the periphery of the multilayer scintillation crystal array can be integrally subjected to packaging treatment by using a reflecting material, and the like.
In the present embodiment, a cross-sectional view of the combined imaging detector module can be seen with reference to fig. 2 and 3. Wherein figure 2 provides a combined imaging detector module comprising two layers of scintillation crystal arrays and two groups of photodetector arrays, and figure 3 provides a combined imaging detector module comprising three layers of scintillation crystal arrays and two groups of photodetector arrays. The two layers of scintillation crystal arrays of the combined imaging detector module shown in fig. 2 are a scintillation crystal array 1 and a scintillation crystal array 2 respectively; the three layers of scintillation crystal arrays of the combined imaging detector module shown in fig. 3 are scintillation crystal array 1, scintillation crystal array 2 and scintillation crystal 3. The multi-layer scintillation crystal arrays of the two combined imaging detectors can be coupled through optical cement, the size of crystal pixels of each layer of scintillation crystal array in the multi-layer scintillation crystal array is increased layer by layer along the ray incidence direction, and the number of the crystal pixels of each layer of scintillation crystal array is integral multiple of the number of the crystal pixels of the scintillation crystal array at the ray emergence end.
Further, fig. 4 provides a schematic diagram of simulated transmission paths of scintillation photons, as shown in fig. 4, when a combined imaging detector module as shown in fig. 3 is used to detect low-energy rays and/or high-energy rays, no matter the rays are deposited on the scintillation crystal array 1 or on the scintillation crystal array 2 and the scintillation crystal 3, the photodetector arrays at both ends of the multi-layer scintillation crystal array can detect scintillation photons, but due to the difference in splitting of the scintillation crystals with respect to the rays, the transmission paths of photons of different energy rays may be different, and therefore, the obtained positioning information may also be different. In this embodiment, because the light path that combination formula formation of image detector module need guarantee between the multilayer scintillation crystal array communicates with each other, so only need two sets of photoelectric detection component can accomplish the discernment of multilayer crystal, and simultaneously, scintillation crystal array and photoelectric detector array all can directly use the optical cement to couple and form a whole array, and need not like the multimode formation of image detector among the prior art, need all bond the scintillation crystal at photoelectric detection component's tow sides, also need not to add extra mechanical structure and increase the mechanical strength of detector, and need not to add more detector components and carry out crystal identification. Therefore, the combined imaging detector module provided by the embodiment can effectively increase the overall mechanical strength of the detector, and reduce the manufacturing cost, the mechanical structure complexity and the process complexity.
In the above embodiment, the number of layers and the size of the scintillation crystal array are not limited, the placement position of the photoelectric detection elements in the photoelectric detection array is not limited, and double-end light collection can be obtained. It should be noted that the length of the scintillation crystal in the scintillation crystal array in this embodiment may be determined according to the material of the crystal and the maximum energy of the radiation to be detected, where the material of the scintillation crystal in each layer of the scintillation crystal array may be the same or different, and for example, the scintillation crystal may be made of an inorganic scintillation crystal, a ceramic scintillation crystal, or other materials. In addition, before the scintillation crystal is coupled into the scintillation crystal array, the front surface of the scintillation crystal needs to be pretreated, for example, polishing, sanding and the like can be performed, and the specific treatment mode can also be selected according to the actual requirement. Further, the photo-detection elements in the photo-detector array may be selected according to actual situations, for example, a photomultiplier tube (PMT), siPM, or photodiode may be selected as the photo-detection elements, and in addition, the size of the photo-detection elements may also be selected according to the size of the scintillation crystal and the readout design manner, which is not specifically limited herein.
The imaging device provided by the embodiment can realize common detection of high-energy rays and low-energy rays with different requirements on spatial resolution by adopting the combined imaging detector module, and avoids the problems of complex mechanical structure and high manufacturing cost caused by using a plurality of independent imaging systems.
In one embodiment, to illustrate the structural features of the combined imaging detector module and the method of making the combined imaging detector module, this implementation provides a specific example of using 1mm by 5mm LYSO crystals (yttrium lutetium silicate crystals) to form a 15 by 15 small crystal pixel size scintillation crystal array, along with a 1mm by 15 siPM (Silicon photomultiplier) array to form a radiation entrance end photodetector array, and then using 3mm by 13mm LYSO crystals to form a 5 by 5 large crystal pixel size scintillation crystal array, along with a 3mm by 3mm siPM array to form a radiation exit end photodetector array, with a BaSo4 (barium sulfate) layer coupled inside each crystal array. The sectional structure of the combined imaging detector is shown in fig. 2.
Further, in the above-described combined imaging detector module, gamma rays of 140keV and 511keV are perpendicularly incident, respectively. From simulation results, 5mm LYSO can intercept almost all 140keV rays. Fig. 9a is a simulation diagram of the depth of action (deposition depth in the crystal) of a low-energy ray (i.e., 140keV ray) in the crystal, fig. 9b is a positioning diagram (i.e., photon number distribution) of the low-energy ray identified by the photodetector array at the ray incident end, fig. 9c is a simulation diagram of the depth of action of a high-energy ray (i.e., 511keV ray) in the crystal, fig. 9d is a photon collection ratio (small sipm/large sipm light collection) of the photodetector arrays at the ray incident end and the ray exit end under different depths of action, the depth of action of the gamma ray can be obtained according to the difference in the ratio, and fig. 9e and 9f are positioning diagrams (i.e., photon number distribution) of the photodetector arrays at the ray exit end and the ray incident end to the high-energy ray, respectively.
Referring to the above example, a combined imaging detector module of a three-layer scintillation crystal array may also be designed, and a schematic cross-sectional structure of the combined imaging detector module is shown in fig. 3, where the crystal size of the middle layer of the combined imaging detector module is 1.5mm by 1.5mm, and the lengths of the three layers of crystals are all 6 mm. Further, the simulation results of the high-energy rays of the combined imaging detector module are shown in fig. 10a-10c, where fig. 10a is the photon collection ratio of the photoelectric detection arrays at the two ends, and fig. 10b and 10c are the position identification spectra (i.e. photon number distribution) of the photoelectric detection arrays at the ray exit end and the ray entrance end, respectively.
As can be seen from the simulation diagrams of the two combined imaging detector modules, the combined imaging detector module provided in the embodiments of the present application can realize common detection of high-energy rays and low-energy rays with different spatial resolution requirements, and avoids the problems of complex mechanical structure, high manufacturing cost and high image registration difficulty caused by using a plurality of independent imaging systems. In addition, above-mentioned combination formula imaging detector module only needs two sets of photoelectric detection component can accomplish the discernment of multilayer crystal, and multilayer scintillation crystal array and photoelectric detection component all can directly use the optical cement to carry out the coupling to form an integral array, the effectual mechanical strength that has increased the detector module has reduced the technology complexity and the structure complexity of detecting the module.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present embodiment provides a combined imaging detector module and imaging device configuration that is not limiting to the imaging module and imaging device, and may include more or fewer components, or some components in combination, or a different arrangement of components.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the figures are merely schematic representations of one preferred implementation scenario and that the blocks or flow diagrams in the figures are not necessarily required to practice the present application. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the modules in the devices in the implementation scenario may be distributed in the devices in the implementation scenario according to the description of the implementation scenario, or may be located in one or more devices different from the present implementation scenario with corresponding changes. The modules of the implementation scenario may be combined into one module, or may be further split into a plurality of sub-modules.
The above application serial numbers are for description purposes only and do not represent the superiority or inferiority of the implementation scenarios. The above disclosure is only a few specific implementation scenarios of the present application, but the present application is not limited thereto, and any variations that can be made by those skilled in the art are intended to fall within the scope of the present application.
Claims (10)
1. A combined imaging detector module comprising a plurality of layers of scintillation crystal arrays of equal peripheral dimensions, and a first photodetector array and a second photodetector array, wherein,
the size of the crystal pixels of each layer of the scintillation crystal array is increased layer by layer along the ray incidence direction, the number of the crystal pixels of each layer of the scintillation crystal array is integral multiple of the number of the crystal pixels of the scintillation crystal array at the ray emergence end, the first photoelectric detector array is coupled on the scintillation crystal array at the ray incidence end, the second photoelectric detector array is coupled on the scintillation crystal array at the ray emergence end, and a reflecting layer is applied to the outermost layer of the multilayer scintillation crystal array;
the first photoelectric detector array is used for detecting low-energy rays, and the first photoelectric detector array and the second photoelectric detector array are used for jointly detecting high-energy rays.
2. The combined imaging detector module of claim 1, wherein the combined imaging detector module is configured to detect the incident position and the energy value of the low energy radiation through a distribution of the number of photons received by the first photodetector array; and/or the ratio and the sum of the photon quantity distribution received by the first photoelectric detector array and the photon quantity distribution received by the second photoelectric detector array are used for detecting the incidence position, the energy value and the action depth of the high-energy ray.
3. The combined imaging detector module of claim 1, wherein the number of layers of the multi-layer scintillation crystal array is two or three, wherein each layer of the multi-layer scintillation crystal array is coupled by an optical glue, and crystals of the multi-layer scintillation crystal array are coupled by a reflective layer.
4. The combined imaging detector module of claim 1, wherein each photodetector element of the first photodetector array is coupled on a side surface of each crystal pixel of the scintillation crystal array at the radiation entrance end; each photodetector element of the second photodetector array is coupled to a front or side surface of each crystal pixel of the scintillation crystal array at the radiation exit end.
5. The combined imaging detector module of claim 4, wherein each photodetector element coupled to a crystal pixel side surface of the scintillation crystal array corresponds to one crystal pixel of the scintillation crystal array, and wherein a length of the photodetector element coupled to a crystal pixel side surface of the scintillation crystal array is less than or equal to a length of a crystal pixel of the scintillation crystal array.
6. The combined imaging detector module of claim 4, wherein each photodetector element coupled to a front surface of a crystal pixel of the scintillation crystal array corresponds to one or more crystal pixels of the scintillation crystal array, and wherein a peripheral dimension of the second photodetector array coupled to the front surface of a crystal pixel of the scintillation crystal array is the same as a peripheral dimension of the scintillation crystal array.
7. A method of making a combined imaging detector module, the method being for making a combined imaging detector module according to any of claims 1 to 6, the method comprising:
selecting a scintillation crystal array with a plurality of crystal pixel sizes, wherein the peripheral sizes of the scintillation crystal arrays are the same;
superposing the plurality of scintillation crystal arrays according to the sequence of the sizes of the crystal pixels from small to large, and coupling the plurality of scintillation crystal arrays through optical cement to form a multilayer scintillation crystal array;
and respectively coupling a group of photoelectric detector arrays at two ends of the multilayer scintillation crystal array, and applying a reflecting layer on the outermost layer of the multilayer scintillation crystal array to form the combined imaging detector module.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein prior to selecting an array of scintillation crystals of a plurality of crystal pixel sizes, the method further comprises:
selecting crystal pixels with various pixel sizes, and preprocessing the front surface of each crystal pixel;
and respectively carrying out coupling treatment on the crystal pixels of each pixel size to form a scintillation crystal array with a plurality of crystal pixel sizes, wherein the periphery of each scintillation crystal array is the same in size.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein coupling a set of photodetector arrays to both ends of the multi-layered scintillation crystal array and applying a reflective layer to an outermost layer of the multi-layered scintillation crystal array comprises:
respectively coupling a group of photoelectric detector arrays on the front surface or the side surface of each crystal pixel on two ends of the multilayer scintillation crystal array;
and packaging the periphery of the multi-layer scintillation crystal array by using a reflecting material.
10. An imaging device characterized in that it comprises a combined imaging detector module according to any of claims 1 to 6.
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