WO2019076268A1

WO2019076268A1 - Photon detection method, device, apparatus and system, and storage medium

Info

Publication number: WO2019076268A1
Application number: PCT/CN2018/110255
Authority: WO
Inventors: 谢思维; 杨静梧; 黄秋; 龚政; 应高阳; 苏志宏
Original assignee: 中派科技（深圳）有限责任公司
Priority date: 2017-10-16
Filing date: 2018-10-15
Publication date: 2019-04-25
Also published as: CN107874773A; CN107874773B

Abstract

A photon detection method (400), a device (1000), an apparatus (900) and system, and a storage medium. The method (400) comprises: receiving a first number of energy signals respectively output by a first number of shared readout circuits connected to a sensor array (910) and a second number of energy signals respectively output by a second number of independent readout circuits, wherein the sensor array (910) is evenly divided into at least two sensor regions, the first number is equal to the number of sensors in each sensor region, the first number of shared readout circuits are connected in one-to-one correspondence with all the sensors in each sensor region, and each independent readout circuit is connected to individual sensors in the sensor array (S410); determining the location of a reaction projection of high energy photons on the basis of an energy distribution pattern of the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals (S420). The photon detection method (400) achieves a reduction in the number of channels by means of electrical signals output by sensors and read from shared readout circuits, and individual readout circuits disposed on the basis of the propagation and distribution characteristics of scintillation photons.

Description

Photon detection method, device, device and system, and storage medium

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of positron emission imaging, and in particular to a photon detection method, apparatus, device and system, and storage medium.

Background technique

In recent years, the positron emission imaging system has gradually turned to the era of Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) by the era of Photomultiplier Tube (PMT). Positron Emission Computed Tomography (PET), a technique for positron emission tomography (PET), is a technique for displaying the internal structure of human or animal bodies using radionuclide tracer methods. And the main means of clinical diagnosis.

The SiPM has a small size and high detection efficiency, which makes the detector compact and has high system sensitivity. But precisely because of the small size of the SiPM, the number of SiPMs coupled by the same cross-sectional area of the scintillation crystal is much larger than the number of PMTs. Taking a single-loop whole-body PET system with a pore size of 76 cm as an example, the scintillation crystal has a light-emitting area of about 125 cm ² , and needs to couple 196 Hamamatsu R9800 PMTs (25 mm for the light-sensitive area) or couple 3400 SiPMs with a size of 6 mm. If all SiPM signals are read separately, the number of system channels will increase by about 17 times. Therefore, the technological innovation of the PMT system to the SiPM system brings certain challenges to the signal readout circuit in the PET system.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an electronic channel reduction technique to at least partially address the above-discussed problems in the prior art.

Summary of the invention

In order to at least partially solve the problems in the prior art, the present invention provides a photon detecting method, apparatus, device and system, and storage medium.

According to an aspect of the invention, a photon detecting method includes: receiving a first number of energy signals respectively output by a first number of shared readout circuits connected to a sensor array, and outputting a second number of separate readout circuits respectively a second number of energy signals, wherein the sensor array is equally divided into at least two sensor regions, the first number being equal to the number of sensors in each sensor region, and the first number of shared readout circuits are connected one by one in each All of the sensors in the sensor area, each individual readout circuit is coupled to a single sensor in the sensor array; and determining a reactive projection position of the high energy photon based on an energy distribution of the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals, wherein The reaction projection position is the projection of the reaction position of the high energy photon in the scintillation crystal coupled to the sensor array on the sensor array.

Illustratively, the photon detection method further comprises determining energy and/or time of arrival of the high energy photons based on the first number of energy signals.

Illustratively, determining a reactive projection position of the high energy photon based on an energy distribution law of the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals comprises: inputting the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals into a machine learning model Analysis to obtain positional data of the reaction projection position of the high energy photon output from the machine learning model.

Illustratively, the photon detection method further includes: performing a photon reaction event simulation at the sample reaction position to obtain a first number of sample energy signals and a second number of sample energy signals corresponding to the sample reaction position, wherein the sample is reacted The sample projection position corresponding to the position is known; and the first number of sample energy signals and the second number of sample energy signals are used as input to the machine learning model, and the position data about the sample projection position is used as the target output of the machine learning model Train the machine learning model.

Illustratively, the first number is not less than the number of sensors included in the maximum range of radiation of the scintillation photons produced by the high energy photons and the scintillation crystals in the sensor array.

Illustratively, sensors with identical coordinates in different sensor regions share the same shared readout circuit.

Illustratively, the second number is not less than N-1, where N is the number of at least two sensor areas.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a photon detecting apparatus includes: a sensor array coupled to a scintillation crystal for detecting a scintillation photon generated by a reaction between a high-energy photon and a scintillation crystal, wherein the sensor array is divided into at least two a sensing area coupled to the sensor array for receiving an electrical signal output by the sensor array and outputting an energy signal associated with energy of the high energy photon, wherein the readout circuit includes a first number of shared readout circuits and Two numbers of individual readout circuits, the first number being equal to the number of sensors in each sensor area, and the first number of shared readout circuits connecting all of the sensors in each sensor area in a one-to-one correspondence, each individually read out The circuit is coupled to a single sensor in the sensor array; the processing circuit is configured to receive a first number of energy signals respectively output by the first number of shared readout circuits and a second number of energy signals respectively output by the second number of separate readout circuits And based on the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals The energy distribution law determines the reaction projection position of the high energy photon, wherein the reaction projection position is the projection of the reaction position of the high energy photon in the scintillation crystal on the sensor array.

Illustratively, the processing circuit is further for determining the energy and/or time of arrival of the high energy photons based on the first number of energy signals.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a photon detecting apparatus is provided, comprising: a receiving module, configured to receive a first number of energy signals respectively output by a first number of shared readout circuits connected to the sensor array, and a second number Separately reading out a second number of energy signals respectively output by the circuit, wherein the sensor array is equally divided into at least two sensor regions, the first number being equal to the number of sensors in each sensor region, and the first number of shared readout circuits One-to-one correspondingly connecting all of the sensors in each sensor region, each individual readout circuit connecting a single sensor in the sensor array; and a position determining module for basing the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals The energy distribution law determines the reaction projection position of the high energy photon, wherein the reaction projection position is a projection of the reaction position of the high energy photon in the scintillation crystal coupled to the sensor array on the sensor array.

Illustratively, the photon detecting device further comprises an energy or time determining module for determining energy and/or arrival time of the high energy photon based on the first number of energy signals.

Illustratively, the location determining module includes: an input submodule configured to input a first number of energy signals and a second number of energy signals into a machine learning model for analysis to obtain a reaction projection of the high energy photon output of the machine learning model Location data for the location.

Illustratively, the photon detecting device further includes: an analog module, configured to perform a photon reaction event simulation at the sample reaction position to obtain a first number of sample energy signals and a second number of sample energy signals corresponding to the sample reaction position, Wherein the sample projection position corresponding to the sample reaction position is known; and a training module for inputting the first number of sample energy signals and the second number of sample energy signals as machine learning models for the sample projection position The position data is used as the target output of the machine learning model to train the machine learning model.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a photon detection system is provided, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores computer program instructions for being executed by the processor for performing the steps of: receiving the sensor array The first number of shared readout circuits respectively output a first number of energy signals and a second number of separate readout circuits respectively output a second number of energy signals, wherein the sensor array is equally divided into at least two sensor regions, The first number is equal to the number of sensors in each sensor region, and the first number of shared readout circuits connect all of the sensors in each sensor region one by one, each individual readout circuit connecting a single sensor in the sensor array And determining a reaction projection position of the high energy photon based on an energy distribution law of the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals, wherein the reaction projection position is a reaction position of the high energy photon in the scintillation crystal coupled to the sensor array at the sensor The projection on the array.

Illustratively, the computer program instructions, when executed by the processor, are further configured to perform the step of determining energy and/or time of arrival of the high energy photons based on the first number of energy signals.

Illustratively, the step of determining a reactive projection position of the high energy photon based on an energy distribution rule of the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals when the computer program instructions are executed by the processor comprises: The energy signal and the second number of energy signals are input into a machine learning model for analysis to obtain positional data of the reaction projection position of the high energy photon output from the machine learning model.

Illustratively, the computer program instructions, when executed by the processor, are further configured to perform the photon reaction event simulation at the sample reaction location to obtain a first number of sample energy signals and a second number corresponding to the sample reaction location a sample energy signal, wherein a sample projection position corresponding to the sample reaction position is known; and the first number of sample energy signals and the second number of sample energy signals are used as inputs to the machine learning model for the sample projection position The position data is used as the target output of the machine learning model to train the machine learning model.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a storage medium is provided on which program instructions are stored, the program instructions being operative to perform the steps of: receiving a first number of shared readout circuits connected to the sensor array, respectively a first number of energy signals and a second number of individual readout circuits respectively outputting a second number of energy signals, wherein the sensor array is equally divided into at least two sensor regions, the first number being equal to the sensors in each sensor region And the first number of shared readout circuits connect all of the sensors in each sensor region one by one, each individual readout circuit connecting a single sensor in the sensor array; and based on the first number of energy signals and The energy distribution law of the two numbers of energy signals determines the reaction projection position of the high energy photons, wherein the reaction projection position is a projection of the reaction position of the high energy photons in the scintillation crystal coupled to the sensor array on the sensor array.

Illustratively, the program instructions are further operative to perform the step of determining energy and/or time of arrival of high energy photons based on the first number of energy signals.

Illustratively, the step of determining, according to an energy distribution rule of the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals, the reaction projection position of the high energy photon used by the program instruction at the time of execution comprises: the first number of energy The signal and the second number of energy signals are input to a machine learning model for analysis to obtain positional data of the reaction projection position of the high energy photon output from the machine learning model.

Illustratively, the program instructions are further operative to perform the step of performing a photon reaction event simulation at a sample reaction location to obtain a first number of sample energy signals and a second number of samples corresponding to the sample reaction locations An energy signal, wherein a sample projection position corresponding to the sample reaction position is known; and the first number of sample energy signals and the second number of sample energy signals are used as inputs to the machine learning model to position the sample projection position Data is used as the target output of the machine learning model to train the machine learning model.

A photon detecting method, apparatus, device and system and storage medium according to an embodiment of the present invention, using a shared readout circuit and a separate readout circuit set based on a propagation characteristic and a distribution characteristic of a scintillation photon to read out an electrical signal output by the sensor, so that The channel reduction can be achieved without affecting the detector, which is beneficial to effectively reduce the power consumption and cost of the PET system.

A series of simplified concepts are introduced in the Summary of the Invention, which are further described in detail in the Detailed Description section. The summary is not intended to limit the key features and essential technical features of the claimed embodiments, and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the claimed embodiments.

Advantages and features of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

DRAWINGS

The following drawings of the invention are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety in their entirety. The embodiments of the invention and the description thereof are shown in the drawings In the drawing,

1 shows a schematic diagram of a scintillation photon radiation region in accordance with one example of the present invention;

2 shows a schematic diagram of total reflection of a scintillation photon according to an example of the present invention;

3 illustrates a distribution of scintillation photons generated in a SiPM array by a single photon reaction event simulated using optical software, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

4 shows a schematic flow chart of a photon detecting method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing sensor area division and individual readout circuit arrangement according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

6 is a schematic diagram showing a readout sequence of electrical signals of the sensor array shown in FIG. 5 according to an embodiment of the present invention;

7a-7d respectively show schematic diagrams of energy signals shared by a readout circuit when the reaction positions of gamma photons are at four different positions, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 8a is a diagram showing the division of sensor regions and the arrangement of individual readout circuits in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 8b is a schematic diagram showing the division of sensor regions and the arrangement of individual readout circuits in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 shows a schematic block diagram of a photon detecting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

Figure 10 shows a schematic block diagram of a photon detecting device in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 11 shows a schematic block diagram of a photon detection system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

In the following description, numerous details are provided in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the following description is directed to the preferred embodiments of the invention, and that the invention may be practiced without one or more such details. Moreover, in order to avoid confusion with the present invention, some of the technical features well known in the art are not described.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a photon detecting method, apparatus, device and system, and storage medium. According to an embodiment of the invention, the sensor array is divided into different regions, and some shared readout circuits are shared between different regions to reduce the number of channels (each readout circuit can be regarded as one readout channel, and the number of channels is reduced) Reduce the number of readout circuits built). In addition, in order to assist in identifying which sensors the energy signal output from the shared readout circuit is derived from, a separate readout circuit is used to separately read the signals of some of the sensors as identification marks. The channel reduction technique provided by the present invention considers the propagation and distribution of scintillation photons (or photons) in the sensor array compared to the channel reduction technique in which the electrical signals output by the entire row or the entire column of sensors are read by the same readout circuit. In this case, the sensitive area is more targeted and avoids the performance of the detector due to the limitations of the electronic system. The theoretical basis of the channel reduction technique provided herein is described in detail below.

In this paper, high-energy photons are used as gamma photons as an example. Gamma photons are produced by a positron annihilation effect that occurs in the body of the object to be imaged. Specifically, when a subject to be imaged is scanned using a positron emission imaging device, a tracer containing a radioisotope may be injected into the body to be imaged. When the positron emitted by the isotope encounters the negative electron in the object to be imaged, annihilation occurs, thereby producing a pair of gamma photons with opposite directions (180 degrees difference) and energy of 511 keV. A pair of oppositely directed gamma photons are generated that are incident into two opposing locations in the scintillation crystal, respectively. The gamma photon is incident on the scintillation crystal and interacts with the outer electrons of the atom. The outer electron absorbs the energy of the gamma photon and becomes an excited state. The excited state of the electron energy level transition produces a large number of scintillation photons. A sensor array coupled to the scintillation crystal can detect these scintillation photons, and when it detects a scintillation photon, the optical signal of the scintillation photon can be converted into an electrical signal and the converted electrical signal can be output.

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a scintillation photon radiation region in accordance with one example of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, in the case where the scintillation crystal is a discrete crystal, scintillation photons generated by the primary photon reaction event are transmitted from a single small crystal into the light guide, and then incident on a partial region in the SiPM array. It should be noted that the photon reaction event described herein refers to an event in which high energy photons react with scintillation crystals. Since the thickness of the photoconductive layer is relatively thin (generally less than 5 mm), the scintillation photons are absorbed by the SiPM without being completely dispersed in the light guide. Therefore, in a photon reaction event, the radiation area of the scintillation photon is constant, and the thinner the thickness of the photoconductive layer, the smaller the radiation area of the scintillation photon.

In the case where the scintillation crystal is a continuous crystal, the six faces of the crystal are polished, and the five faces except the faces of the coupled SiPM array are attached with a highly reflective film. For example, if the scintillation crystal is a strontium silicate scintillation crystal (LYSO), its refractive index is 1.82. The surface of the SiPM is glass with a refractive index of 1.5. Therefore, the scintillation photons propagate from the scintillation crystal to the SiPM from the optically dense medium to the optically-sparing medium. As shown in FIG. 2, a total reflection phenomenon occurs. 2 shows a schematic diagram of total reflection of scintillation photons in accordance with one example of the present invention. It can be understood that when the incident angle when the scintillation photon is incident on the SiPM is greater than the critical angle, it will be reflected and cannot be injected into the SiPM. That is to say, most of the scintillation photons are received by the SiPM in a certain area, and only a very small number of scintillation photons are diffusely reflected and received by the SiPM outside the area. Therefore, whether the scintillation crystal is a continuous crystal or a discrete crystal, only a part of the SiPM in the SiPM array can receive the optical signal in the primary photon reaction event.

The present invention will be described in detail below by taking a continuous crystal coupling 10 x 10 SiPM array (each SiPM size of 6 mm) having a size of 60 mm × 60 mm × 20 mm as an example. Optical software can be used to simulate photon reaction events, tracking the trajectory of all scintillation photons until the scintillation photons are absorbed. 3 shows a distribution of scintillation photons generated in a SiPM array by a single photon reaction event simulated using optical software, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, two coordinates in the horizontal direction indicate the serial number of the SiPM, and the coordinates in the vertical direction indicate the number of scintillation photons received by the SiPM. It can be seen from Fig. 3 that in a photon reaction event, only a portion of the SiPM can receive scintillation photons, wherein the reaction position of the gamma photons (ie, the position at which the gamma photons react in the scintillation crystal) is in the SiPM. The SiPM at the projection on the array (ie, the position of the reaction projection) collects the most scintillation photons, the highest energy of the detected optical signal, and the lower the energy of the optical signal detected by the SiPM from the reaction projection position. It can be understood that when the reaction position of the gamma photon moves in the horizontal direction, the distribution area of the scintillation photon in the SiPM array also moves along the horizontal direction by the same distance, and the distribution pattern of the scintillation photon is substantially unchanged. Therefore, it is not necessary to assign a readout circuit to all of the sensors, but a shared readout circuit can be set according to the distribution pattern of the scintillation photons in the SiPM array.

From the above analysis, it is known that such channel reduction techniques are possible, that is, the sensor regions that match the size of the radiation range of the scintillation photons share the same readout circuit to achieve a reduction in the number of channels.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic flow diagram of a photon detection method 400 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, photon detection method 400 includes the following steps.

In step S410, a first number of energy signals respectively output by the first number of shared readout circuits connected to the sensor array and a second number of energy signals respectively output by the second number of separate readout circuits are respectively received, wherein the sensor array Divided equally into at least two sensor regions, the first number being equal to the number of sensors in each sensor region, and the first number of shared readout circuits connecting all of the sensors in each sensor region in a one-to-one correspondence, each individually reading The outgoing circuit connects a single sensor in the sensor array.

At step S420, a reaction projection position of the high-energy photon is determined based on an energy distribution law of the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals, wherein the reaction projection position is a reaction position of the high-energy photon in the scintillation crystal coupled to the sensor array Projection on the sensor array.

The photon detecting method 400 will be described below using the example shown in FIG. 3, that is, a continuous crystal coupling 10×10 SiPM array (each SiPM size of 6 mm) having a size of 60 mm×60 mm×20 mm is taken as an example. Centering on the reaction position of the gamma photons, it is assumed that the distance traveled by the scintillation photons in the continuous crystal or light guide does not exceed the distance of 2.5 sensor sides in the sensor array. That is to say, in a photon reaction event, no more than 25 SiPMs receive the optical signal. In this case, the sensor area can be divided and channel reduction can be performed in the manner shown in FIG.

Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of sensor area division and individual readout circuitry arrangements in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, 100 sensors can be divided into four regions A, B, C, and D along the center line, and each region includes 25 sensors. In each area, the sensors are numbered from left to right and top to bottom, in order of 1.1, 1.2, 1.3...5.5.

For each sensor region, a first number of shared readout circuits connect all of the sensors in a one-to-one correspondence such that different sensor regions can share a first number of shared readout circuits. Illustratively, sensors with identical coordinates in different sensor regions share the same shared readout circuit, which makes it easier to identify sensors that detect scintillation photons later. Of course, it is also possible to have sensors having inconsistent coordinates in different sensor areas share the same shared readout circuit, which can be set as needed. The coordinates of the sensor described herein are the location of the sensor in its sensor area. In the case where the sensors are numbered in the manner as shown in FIG. 5, the coordinates of the sensor can be represented by the number of the sensor, and the same coordinates refer to the same number.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, the sensors (m, n) of the four regions A, B, C, and D share a readout circuit (m=1, 2, 3, 4, 5; n=1, 2, 3, 4, 5), a total of 25 read channels. It can be understood that if only 25 shared readout circuits are provided, in some cases, for example, when the reaction position of the gamma photons is above the sensor numbered 3.3 in the four regions A, B, C, D, 25 The energy signals output by the shared readout circuits will be the same or substantially the same, and it is not possible to distinguish in which region the sensor is numbered 3.3. Therefore, some separate readout circuitry needs to be provided to aid in identification, such as the eight individual readout circuits in the example shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the sensors numbered as 2.2 and 4.4 in the regions A and D, and 2.4 and 4.2 in the regions B and C respectively (ie, the sensors in the smaller dark circle in FIG. 5) can be respectively used. The electrical signals are read separately and have a total of 8 readout channels.

Figure 6 is a diagram showing the readout sequence of electrical signals of the sensor array shown in Figure 5, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The electrical signals of 33 channels can be sequentially read out in the manner shown in FIG. As described above, the function of the sensor is to photoelectrically convert the optical signal of the scintillation photon, so that the sensor outputs an electrical signal obtained after photoelectric conversion. A readout circuit is operative to process an electrical signal from the sensor and output an energy signal representative of the amount of energy of the optical signal received by the sensor. It will be appreciated that the amount of energy represented by the energy signal output by each readout circuit is positively correlated with the amount of scintillation photons received by the sensor that outputs the electrical signal to the readout circuitry.

A photon reaction event occurs and the readout circuit can output 33 channels of energy signals. In one example, 33 channels of energy signals can be used as input to a machine learning model, and a machine learning model can output a reaction projection position of gamma photons. The machine learning model can be based on the first 8 separate read channels (A2.2, A4.4, B2.4, B4.2, C2.4, C4.2, D2.2, and D4.4) and the last 25 shares. The signal characteristic of the energy signal outputted by the channel is read out, and the reaction projection position of the gamma photon is decoded.

As described above, the closer the reaction projection position to the gamma photon is, the higher the energy of the optical signal detected by the SiPM. It is assumed that the energy of the optical signal detected by the SiPM at the reaction projection position is E3, the energy of the optical signal detected by the adjacent eight SiPMs is E2, and the energy of the optical signal detected by the outermost 16 SiPMs is E1. When the channels A2.2 and A4.4 are read out separately, there are four cases as shown in Figures 7a-7d. 7a-7d respectively show schematic diagrams of energy signals shared by a readout circuit when the reaction positions of gamma photons are at four different positions, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. When the situation shown in Figure 7a occurs, the signals of the 33 channels are: E2, E2, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, E1, E1, E1, E1, E1, E1, E2, E2. , E2, E1, E1, E2, E3, E2, E1, E1, E2, E2, E2, E1, E1, E1, E1, E1, E1. Only the first and second energy signals are present in the first 8 separate readout channels, and the energy signals in the last 25 shared readout channels are arranged according to a certain rule, and the energy signals in the shared readout channels are all from Area A. When three cases as shown in 7b, 7c, and 7d occur, only the first and second energy signals are still in the first eight individual readout channels, and the energy distribution in the last 25 shared readout channels is Not the same. Note that in the case shown in Figure 7b, the energy signals in the 25 shared readout channels have four columns (20) from region A and one column (5) from region B. Figure 7c is similar to Figure 7d in that the energy signal comes from more than one area. The machine learning model has a certain ability to recognize the difference in energy arrangement by using a large amount of data training, and can determine the reaction projection position of the gamma photon according to the arrangement of energy.

One arrangement of the separate readout circuits is described above, that is, two separate readout circuits are provided for each sensor area, and a total of eight separate readout circuits are provided. However, the above examples are not limiting of the invention, and the individual readout circuits may have other reasonable numbers and arrangements. For example, in another example, the electrical signals of the sensors numbered 3.3 in the four regions A, B, C, D can be read out separately, that is, a separate readout circuit is provided at the center sensor of each region. A total of four separate readout circuits are provided so that the total readout channel will be 29. A separate readout circuit disposed at the center of each sensor region is sufficient to distinguish electrical signals from different sensor regions.

According to the photon detecting method of the embodiment of the present invention, the shared readout circuit and the separate readout circuit set based on the propagation characteristics and the distribution characteristics of the scintillation photons are used to read out the electrical signals output by the sensor, so that the performance of the detector can be achieved without affecting the performance of the detector. The purpose of channel reduction is to effectively reduce the power consumption and cost of the PET system.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, photon detection method 400 further includes determining energy and/or time of arrival of high energy photons based on the first number of energy signals. The energy corresponding to the first number of energy signals is the energy of the high energy photons. Illustratively, the first number of energy signals can be summed to obtain a total energy signal. The total energy signal represents the amount of energy equal to the energy of the high-energy photon. Illustratively, the time at which the first occurrence of the pulse level in the first number of energy signals can be considered as the arrival time of the high energy photons. The time of arrival refers to the time at which a high energy photon reaches the detector, which can be measured by the time the sensor array receives the scintillation photons. The manner in which the above energy and time of arrival are determined is merely an example, and the energy and/or time of arrival of the high energy photons may be determined in other ways. The energy information and time information of the high energy photons can be acquired by the processing circuit described below, and the energy information and the time information are subjected to data processing and image reconstruction to obtain a scanned image of the object to be imaged.

Since the readout circuit is based on the propagation characteristics and the distribution characteristics of the scintillation photons, the energy and the arrival time of the high-energy photons obtained based on the energy signal output from the readout circuit are highly targeted and highly accurate. In addition, energy and time measurement efficiency is high due to the reduction in the number of channels.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, step S420 may include: inputting a first number of energy signals and a second number of energy signals into a machine learning model for analysis to obtain position data of a reaction projection position of the high energy photon output by the machine learning model. .

The machine learning model can be any suitable intelligent algorithm model, and the invention does not limit its specific categories. Illustratively, the machine learning model can be implemented using a decision tree, a support vector machine, a neural network, an AdaBoost algorithm model, a Bayesian classifier, and the like. In the following description, a machine learning model will be described taking a convolutional neural network as an example.

Machine learning models can be pre-trained or implemented using known models. The machine learning model classifies the reaction projection locations. As described above, the machine learning model has a certain ability to recognize the difference in energy arrangement by using a large amount of data training, and can determine the reaction projection position of the gamma photon according to the arrangement of the energy. Therefore, the machine projection algorithm can be used to determine the reaction projection position of gamma photons simply, quickly and accurately. The machine learning model outputs position data. In one example, the output is the number of the sensor and the number of the sensor area where the sensor is located. For example, using the sensor array example shown in FIG. 5, FIGS. 7a-7d, assuming that the reaction position of the gamma photon is directly above the sensor numbered 2.3 in the area A, the machine learning model output may be used to indicate the area. A and the data of number 2.3.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the photon detecting method 400 may further include: performing a photon reaction event simulation at a sample reaction position to obtain a first number of sample energy signals and a second number of sample energy signals corresponding to the sample reaction position, wherein a sample projection position corresponding to the sample reaction position is known; and the first number of sample energy signals and the second number of sample energy signals are used as input to the machine learning model, and the position data about the sample projection position is used as machine learning The target output of the model, training the machine learning model.

Photon detection method 400 may also include training steps of a machine learning model. Training can be accomplished by collecting a large number of energy signals that reflect photon reaction events at known projection locations. Photon reaction event simulation can be implemented using optical software. The optical system was used to build the model of the PET system, and different sample reaction positions were set to simulate to obtain the energy signal outputted by the readout circuit under different sample reaction positions. Preferably, as the sample reaction position changes, the sample projection position is also changed as much as possible. The sample projection position is the projection of the sample reaction position on the sensor array. When the sample projection positions of the gamma photons are different, the energy signals output by the readout circuit are different. Illustratively, for each sample projection position, the energy signal corresponding to the sample projection position may be used as an input of a convolutional neural network, and the sample projection position is used as a target output of the convolutional neural network, and training is performed by a back propagation method.

The machine learning algorithm is an autonomous learning method that can achieve very good classification results. After training the machine learning model, the model can be utilized to accurately position the reaction projection position based on the actual measured energy signal.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the first number is not less than the number of sensors included in the maximum range of radiation of the scintillation photons generated by the high energy photons and the scintillation crystals in the sensor array.

As in the example described above, assuming that the maximum number of spreads of scintillation photons in the sensor array is 5 x 5, the shared readout circuit should be no less than 25. For example, referring to the example shown in Figures 5-7d, the number of shared readout circuits can be 25. Of course, the number of shared readout circuits can be more, for example 36, that is to say each sensor area can be set to a 6 x 6 size. The area occupied by the sensor sharing the readout circuitry is preferably capable of covering the maximum propagation range of the scintillation photons in the sensor array to ensure that substantially all of the energy of the scintillation photons produced by a single photon reaction event is read by the shared readout circuitry.

Illustratively, the second number is not less than N-1, where N is the number of at least two sensor areas. In the case where the first number is equal to N-1, each sensor area is assigned at most one separate readout circuit. A second number of separate readout circuits are used to assist in identifying the sensor area if it is not possible to resolve which sensor area the first number of energy signals are from.

Assuming the sensor array is divided equally into 4 sensor areas (see Figures 5, 7a-7d), the second number is a minimum of 3. In the case where there are three separate readout circuits, three sensor areas are selected from the four sensor areas, and a single readout circuit is assigned to each of the three sensor areas. Thus, the energy signals read by the three separate readout circuits can also distinguish which sensor region the energy signal is from. It will be appreciated that if the number of individual readout circuits is further reduced, for example only two, it may result in the inability of the energy signals from the two sensor regions of the unassigned separate readout circuitry to be distinguishable in some cases. For example, returning to Figure 5, if two separate readout circuits are respectively provided in the A and B regions, and the C and D regions do not have separate readout circuits, that is, a total of 2+25=27 readout channels are provided, when the reaction position is When the sensor numbered 3.3 in the C area is directly above the sensor numbered 3.3 in the D area, the distribution of the energy signals read by the 27 channels is the same or substantially the same, and cannot be distinguished.

In addition to the separate read channel arrangement shown in Figures 5-7d, the present embodiment also proposes two other solutions, as shown in Figures 8a and 8b. In the scheme shown in Figure 8a, the signals of the eight channels A3.3, A3.5, B3.3, B5.3, C1.3, C3.3, D3.1, and D3.3 are read out separately. The remaining sensors (m, n) in the four regions A, B, C, and D share one channel (m = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). 33 channels. In the scheme shown in Figure 8b, the signals of the eight channels A3.3, A4.5, B3.3, B5.2, C1.4, C3.3, D2.1, and D3.3 are read out separately. The remaining sensors (m, n) in the four regions A, B, C, and D share one channel (m = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). 33 channels.

Note that the photon detection method provided by the present invention can be applied to discrete crystals or continuous crystals without limiting the crystal and crystal array size, SiPM and SiPM array size. Note that the present invention does not limit scintillation crystal materials, and only LYSO crystals are exemplified herein. The scintillation crystal can be any suitable crystal, and the invention is not limited thereto. For example, the scintillation crystal may be bismuth ruthenate (BGO), strontium silicate (LYSO) or strontium bromide (LaBr3) or the like. The present invention does not limit the coupling manner of the SiPM array and the scintillation crystal, and may be directly coupled or coupled by optical glue or the like.

The sensor described herein can be any suitable photosensor, such as a PMT, SiPM or avalanche photodiode (APD). Although the present invention is mainly described by taking SiPM as an example, it is not intended to limit the present invention, and the present invention can be applied to other similar detectors requiring channel reduction techniques.

The number of shared readout circuits described herein depends on the thickness of the crystal and photoconductive layer and the distance that the scintillation photons travel in the crystal or lightguide. When the propagation distance is determined, the number of shared readout circuits can also be determined. There are many ways to select individual readout circuits, and the present invention does not limit the selection, arrangement, and number of individual readout circuits. The present invention proposes an idea that the readout circuits are regularly shared and individually arranged in accordance with photon propagation characteristics. The reaction projection position of the gamma photon is calculated based on the signal characteristic of the energy signal output by the readout circuit.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the sensor array can be divided into any number of combinations of sensor regions of 2x1, 3x2, 2x4, 4x4, and the like. The number and arrangement of the sensor areas included in the sensor array can be set as needed, and the invention does not limit this. For example, if the scintillation crystal is a continuous crystal of 60 mm × 60 mm × 20 mm, and the distance of the scintillation photon in the sensor is 10 mm, it can be divided into 3 × 3 sensor areas (the size of each sensor area is 20 mm × 20 mm) The sensor array performs photon detection. If the distance of the scintillation photon in the sensor is 15 mm, photon detection can be performed by using a sensor array divided into 2 × 2 sensor areas (each sensor area is 30 mm × 30 mm).

According to another aspect of the present invention, a photon detecting apparatus is provided. Figure 9 shows a schematic block diagram of a photon detecting device 900 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the photon detecting apparatus 900 includes a sensor array 910, a readout circuit 920, and a processing circuit 930. In the above description of the photon detecting method 400, the circuit structure and operating principle of the scintillation crystal, the sensor array, the readout circuit have been described. The processing circuitry is used to implement the various steps/functions of the photon detection method 400. A person skilled in the art can understand the circuit structure and working principle of the photon detecting device 900 with reference to the above description about the photon detecting method 400, and details are not described herein again.

The sensor array 910 is coupled to the scintillation crystal for detecting scintillation photons generated by the reaction of the high energy photons with the scintillation crystals, wherein the sensor array 910 is equally divided into at least two sensor regions.

The readout circuit 920 is coupled to the sensor array 910 for receiving an electrical signal output by the sensor array 910 and outputting an energy signal associated with the energy of the high energy photon, wherein the readout circuit 920 includes a first number of shared readout circuits and a second a number of individual readout circuits, the first number being equal to the number of sensors in each sensor region, and the first number of shared readout circuits connecting all of the sensors in each sensor region in a one-to-one correspondence, each individually readout circuit Connect a single sensor in the sensor array.

The processing circuit 930 is configured to receive a first number of energy signals respectively output by the first number of shared readout circuits and a second number of energy signals respectively output by the second number of separate readout circuits, and based on the first number of energy signals And the energy distribution law of the second number of energy signals determines a reaction projection position of the high energy photon, wherein the reaction projection position is a projection of the reaction position of the high energy photon in the scintillation crystal on the sensor array 910. Processing circuit 930 can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, and/or firmware. Illustratively, the processing circuit 930 can be implemented using a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a micro control unit (MCU), or a central processing unit (CPU). .

Illustratively, the processing circuit 930 is further configured to determine the energy and/or time of arrival of the high energy photons based on the first number of energy signals.

Illustratively, the first number is not less than the number of sensors included in the maximum range of radiation of the scintillation photons produced by the high energy photons and the scintillation crystals in the sensor array 910.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a photon detecting device is provided. FIG. 10 shows a schematic block diagram of a photon detecting apparatus 1000 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 10, a photon detecting apparatus 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a receiving module 1010 and a position determining module 1020. The various modules may perform the various steps/functions of the photon detection method described above in connection with Figures 1-8b, respectively. Only the main functions of the respective components of the photon detecting device 1000 will be described below, and the details already described above are omitted.

The receiving module 1010 is configured to receive a first number of energy signals respectively output by the first number of shared readout circuits connected to the sensor array and a second number of energy signals respectively output by the second number of separate readout circuits, wherein the sensor The array is equally divided into at least two sensor regions, the first number being equal to the number of sensors in each sensor region, and the first number of shared readout circuits connecting all of the sensors in each sensor region in a one-to-one correspondence, each individually The readout circuitry is coupled to a single sensor in the sensor array.

The position determining module 1020 is configured to determine a reaction projection position of the high energy photon based on an energy distribution law of the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals, wherein the reactive projection position is a high energy photon in the scintillation crystal coupled to the sensor array The projection of the reaction location on the sensor array.

Illustratively, photon detection device 1000 can also include an energy or time determination module (not shown) for determining energy and/or time of arrival of high energy photons based on the first number of energy signals.

Illustratively, the location determining module 1020 can include an input sub-module for inputting a first number of energy signals and a second number of energy signals into a machine learning model for analysis to obtain high energy photons of the machine learning model output. The position data of the reaction projection position.

Illustratively, the photon detecting device 1000 may further include: an analog module configured to perform a photon reaction event simulation at the sample reaction position to obtain a first number of sample energy signals and a second number of sample energies corresponding to the sample reaction position a signal, wherein a sample projection position corresponding to a sample reaction position is known; and a training module for inputting the first number of sample energy signals and the second number of sample energy signals as machine learning models to The position data of the projection position is used as a target output of the machine learning model to train the machine learning model.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the elements and algorithm steps of the various examples described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the solution. A person skilled in the art can use different methods for implementing the described functions for each particular application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of the present invention.

Figure 11 shows a schematic block diagram of a photon detection system 1100 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The photon detection system 1100 includes a signal acquisition device 1110, a storage device 1120, and a processor 1130.

The signal acquisition device 1110 is for collecting energy signals related to the energy of the high energy photons. Signal acquisition device 1110 is optional, and photon detection system 1100 may not include signal acquisition device 1110. In this case, the energy signal can be acquired by other signal acquisition devices and the acquired signal can be sent to the photon detection system 1100.

The storage device 1120 stores computer program instructions for implementing respective steps in a photon detection method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

The processor 1130 is configured to execute computer program instructions stored in the storage device 1120 to perform respective steps of a photon detecting method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and to implement the photon detecting device 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The receiving module 1010 and the location determining module 1020.

In one embodiment, the computer program instructions, when executed by the processor 1130, are configured to: receive a first number of energy signals respectively output by a first number of shared readout circuits coupled to the sensor array, and a second number of separate a second number of energy signals respectively output by the readout circuit, wherein the sensor array is equally divided into at least two sensor regions, the first number being equal to the number of sensors in each sensor region, and the first number of shared readout circuits Correspondingly connecting all of the sensors in each sensor region, each individual readout circuit connecting a single sensor in the sensor array; and determining the energy photon based on the energy distribution of the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals The reaction projection position, wherein the reaction projection position is a projection of the reaction position of the high energy photon in the scintillation crystal coupled to the sensor array on the sensor array.

In one embodiment, the computer program instructions, when executed by the processor 1130, are further operative to determine the energy and/or time of arrival of the high energy photons based on the first number of energy signals.

In one embodiment, the step of determining the reactive projection position of the high energy photon based on the energy distribution of the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals when the computer program instructions are executed by the processor 1130 includes: A number of energy signals and a second number of energy signals are input into a machine learning model for analysis to obtain positional data of the reaction projection position of the high energy photon output from the machine learning model.

In one embodiment, the computer program instructions, when executed by the processor 1130, are further configured to perform a photon reaction event simulation at a sample reaction location to obtain a first number of sample energy signals corresponding to a sample reaction location and a a second number of sample energy signals, wherein the sample projection position corresponding to the sample reaction position is known; and the first number of sample energy signals and the second number of sample energy signals are used as input to the machine learning model to The position data of the projection position is used as a target output of the machine learning model to train the machine learning model.

In one embodiment, the first number is not less than the number of sensors included in the maximum range of radiation of the scintillation photons produced by the high energy photons in response to the scintillation crystals in the sensor array.

In one embodiment, sensors with consistent coordinates in different sensor regions share the same shared readout circuitry.

In one embodiment, the second number is not less than N-1, where N is the number of at least two sensor regions.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, there is also provided a storage medium on which program instructions are stored, and when the program instructions are executed by a computer or a processor, a photon detecting method for performing an embodiment of the present invention is further provided. Corresponding steps and for implementing respective modules in a photon detecting device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The storage medium may include, for example, a memory card of a smart phone, a storage component of a tablet computer, a hard disk of a computer, a read only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), a portable compact disk read only memory ( CD-ROM), USB memory, or any combination of the above storage media.

In one embodiment, the program instructions, when executed by a computer or processor, may cause a computer or processor to implement various functional modules of a photon detection device in accordance with embodiments of the present invention, and/or may perform embodiments in accordance with the present invention. Photon detection method.

In one embodiment, the program instructions are operative to perform the steps of: receiving a first number of energy signals respectively output by a first number of shared readout circuits coupled to the sensor array and a second number of separate readouts a second number of energy signals respectively output by the circuit, wherein the sensor array is equally divided into at least two sensor regions, the first number being equal to the number of sensors in each sensor region, and the first number of shared readout circuits are one-to-one correspondence Grounding all of the sensors in each sensor region, each individual readout circuit connecting a single sensor in the sensor array; and determining a reactive projection of the high energy photon based on an energy distribution of the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals A position, wherein the reaction projection position is a projection of a reaction position of a high energy photon in a scintillation crystal coupled to the sensor array on the sensor array.

In one embodiment, the program instructions are further operative to perform the step of determining energy and/or time of arrival of the high energy photons based on the first number of energy signals.

In one embodiment, the step of determining, according to an energy distribution rule of the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals, the reaction projection position of the high energy photon used by the program instruction during execution comprises: first number The energy signal and the second number of energy signals are input into a machine learning model for analysis to obtain positional data of the reaction projection position of the high energy photon output from the machine learning model.

In one embodiment, the program instructions are further operative to perform the step of performing a photon reaction event simulation at a sample reaction location to obtain a first number of sample energy signals and a second number corresponding to the sample reaction location a sample energy signal, wherein the sample projection position corresponding to the sample reaction position is known; and the first number of sample energy signals and the second number of sample energy signals are used as input to the machine learning model to relate to the sample projection position The position data is used as the target output of the machine learning model to train the machine learning model.

In one embodiment, the second number is not less than N-1, wherein N is the number of at least two sensor regions.

Each module in a photon detection system according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented by a processor executing an electronic device of a photon detection according to an embodiment of the present invention running computer program instructions stored in a memory, or may be in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention The computer instructions stored in the computer readable storage medium of the computer program product are implemented by the computer when executed.

Although the example embodiments have been described herein with reference to the drawings, it is understood that the foregoing exemplary embodiments are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. A person skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as claimed.

In the several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the unit is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be another division manner, for example, multiple units or components may be combined or Can be integrated into another device, or some features can be ignored or not executed.

In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that the embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, structures, and techniques are not shown in detail so as not to obscure the understanding of the description.

Similarly, the various features of the present invention are sometimes grouped together into a single embodiment, figure, in the description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, in the description of the exemplary embodiments of the invention. Or in the description of it. However, the method of the present invention should not be construed as reflecting the intention that the claimed invention requires more features than those specifically recited in the appended claims. Rather, as the invention is reflected by the appended claims, it is claimed that the technical problems can be solved with fewer features than all of the features of a single disclosed embodiment. Therefore, the claims following the specific embodiments are hereby explicitly incorporated into the embodiments, and each of the claims as a separate embodiment of the invention.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all features disclosed in the specification, including the accompanying claims, the abstract and the drawings, and all methods or devices so disclosed, may be employed in any combination, unless the features are mutually exclusive. Process or unit combination. Each feature disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, the abstract and the drawings) may be replaced by alternative features that provide the same, equivalent or similar purpose.

Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that, although some embodiments described herein include certain features that are not included in other embodiments, and other features, combinations of features of different embodiments are intended to be within the scope of the present invention. Different embodiments are formed and formed. For example, in the claims, any one of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

The various component embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in hardware, or in a software module running on one or more processors, or in a combination thereof. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that some or all of the functionality of some of the photon detection devices in accordance with embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in practice using a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP). The invention can also be implemented as a device program (e.g., a computer program and a computer program product) for performing some or all of the methods described herein. Such a program implementing the invention may be stored on a computer readable medium or may be in the form of one or more signals. Such signals may be downloaded from an Internet website, provided on a carrier signal, or provided in any other form.

It is to be noted that the above-described embodiments are illustrative of the invention and are not intended to be limiting, and that the invention may be devised without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as a limitation. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of the elements or steps that are not recited in the claims. The word "a" or "an" The invention can be implemented by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In the unit claims enumerating several means, several of these means can be embodied by the same hardware item. The use of the words first, second, and third does not indicate any order. These words can be interpreted as names.

The above is only the specific embodiment of the present invention or the description of the specific embodiments, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention. Any changes or substitutions are contemplated as being within the scope of the invention. The scope of the invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

A photon detection method includes:

Receiving a first number of energy signals respectively output by the first number of shared readout circuits connected to the sensor array and a second number of energy signals respectively output by the second number of separate readout circuits, wherein the sensor array is equally divided For at least two sensor regions, the first number is equal to the number of sensors in each sensor region, and the first number of shared readout circuits connect all of the sensors in each sensor region one-to-one, one for each A separate readout circuit is coupled to a single sensor in the sensor array;

Determining a reactive projection position of the high energy photon based on an energy distribution law of the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals, wherein the reactive projection position is coupled to the sensor array by the high energy photons Projection of the reaction sites in the scintillation crystal on the sensor array.
The photon detecting method according to claim 1, wherein the photon detecting method further comprises:

The energy and/or time of arrival of the high energy photons is determined based on the first number of energy signals.
The photon detecting method according to claim 1, wherein the determining a reaction projection position of the high-energy photon based on an energy distribution rule of the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals comprises:

The first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals are input to a machine learning model for analysis to obtain positional data of the reaction projection position of the high energy photon output by the machine learning model.
The photon detecting method according to claim 3, wherein the photon detecting method further comprises:

Performing a photon reaction event simulation at a sample reaction location to obtain a first number of sample energy signals and a second number of sample energy signals corresponding to the sample reaction locations, wherein the sample projection locations corresponding to the sample reaction locations Is known; and

Taking the first number of sample energy signals and the second number of sample energy signals as inputs of the machine learning model, with position data about the sample projection position as a target output of the machine learning model, The machine learning model is trained.
The photon detecting method according to claim 1, wherein the first number is not less than a maximum radiation range of the scintillation photon generated by the high-energy photon to react with the scintillation crystal in the sensor array The number of sensors.
The photon detecting method according to claim 1, wherein the sensors having the same coordinates in different sensor regions share the same shared readout circuit.
The photon detecting method according to claim 1, wherein the second number is not less than N-1, wherein N is the number of the at least two sensor areas.
A photon detecting device comprising:

a sensor array coupled to the scintillation crystal for detecting scintillation photons generated by the reaction of the high-energy photons with the scintillation crystal, wherein the sensor array is equally divided into at least two sensor regions;

a readout circuit coupled to the sensor array for receiving an electrical signal output by the sensor array and outputting an energy signal associated with energy of the high energy photon, wherein the readout circuitry includes a first number of shared reads And a second number of individual readout circuits, the first number being equal to the number of sensors in each sensor region, and the first number of shared readout circuits are coupled one-to-one in each sensor region All sensors, each individually readout circuit connected to a single sensor in the sensor array;

Processing circuitry for receiving a first number of energy signals respectively output by the first number of shared readout circuits and a second number of energy signals respectively output by the second number of separate readout circuits, and based on The energy distribution law of the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals determines a reaction projection position of the high energy photon, wherein the reaction projection position is a reaction position of the high energy photon in the scintillation crystal The projection on the sensor array.
The photon detecting apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said processing circuit is further configured to determine an energy and/or an arrival time of said high energy photon based on said first number of energy signals.
The photon detecting apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said first number is not less than a maximum radiation range of said scintillation photons generated by said high-energy photon reacting with said scintillation crystal in said sensor array The number of sensors.
The photon detecting apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the sensors having the same coordinates in different sensor areas share the same shared readout circuit.
The photon detecting apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said second number is not less than N-1, wherein N is the number of said at least two sensor areas.
A photon detecting device comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive a first number of energy signals respectively output by the first number of shared readout circuits connected to the sensor array, and a second number of energy signals respectively output by the second number of separate readout circuits, wherein The sensor array is divided equally into at least two sensor regions, the first number being equal to the number of sensors in each sensor region, and the first number of shared readout circuits are connected one-to-one in each sensor region All sensors, each individually readout circuit connected to a single sensor in the sensor array;

a position determining module, configured to determine a reaction projection position of the high-energy photon based on an energy distribution rule of the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals, wherein the reactive projection position is the high-energy photon A projection of a reaction location in the scintillation crystal coupled to the sensor array on the sensor array.
A photon detection system includes a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores computer program instructions for performing the following steps when the computer program instructions are executed by the processor:

Receiving a first number of energy signals respectively output by the first number of shared readout circuits connected to the sensor array and a second number of energy signals respectively output by the second number of separate readout circuits, wherein the sensor array is equally divided For at least two sensor regions, the first number is equal to the number of sensors in each sensor region, and the first number of shared readout circuits connect all of the sensors in each sensor region one-to-one, one for each A separate readout circuit is coupled to a single sensor in the sensor array;

Determining a reactive projection position of the high energy photon based on an energy distribution law of the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals, wherein the reactive projection position is coupled to the sensor array by the high energy photons Projection of the reaction sites in the scintillation crystal on the sensor array.
A storage medium on which program instructions are stored, the program instructions being used at runtime to perform the following steps:

Receiving a first number of energy signals respectively output by the first number of shared readout circuits connected to the sensor array and a second number of energy signals respectively output by the second number of separate readout circuits, wherein the sensor array is equally divided For at least two sensor regions, the first number is equal to the number of sensors in each sensor region, and the first number of shared readout circuits connect all of the sensors in each sensor region one-to-one, one for each A separate readout circuit is coupled to a single sensor in the sensor array;

Determining a reactive projection position of the high energy photon based on an energy distribution law of the first number of energy signals and the second number of energy signals, wherein the reactive projection position is coupled to the sensor array by the high energy photons Projection of the reaction sites in the scintillation crystal on the sensor array.