(Cork, Ireland; 22 April, 2009) “Nuclear Medicine research institutes and OEMs are faced with
many obstacles when it comes to building PET or PET/MRI systems for brain, preclinical or full
human body imaging. Limitations due to magnetic fields, lack of uniformity, large form factor
and problematic glass tubes are some of the issues that spring to mind,” explained Dr. Carl
Jackson (SensL) at a recent invited talk.
“Unlike Photomultiplier Tubes (PMT), Silicon Photomultipliers (SPM) are not impacted by large
magnetic fields and no special precautions are required to operate them in this environment.
High uniformity is achieved across the SPM detectors resulting in simplified calibration and
electronic design. Additionally, the SPMs have a small form factor and are light which makes ring
assembly simpler and more compact for Nuclear Medicine applications,” Jackson added.
With this in mind, SensL has recently developed a complete modular set of evaluation hardware
which accompanies the SPMArray Version 2 large area silicon photomultiplier to simplify testing
and hardware configurations necessary to assess SPM technology as the viable alternative to
PMT’s.
The SPMArray 2 detector array platform with summed, pixellated detection and multichannel preamplification
electronics has been fully upgraded with additional optional features for simplified
module readout and power delivery – An evaluation motherboard has been designed which can
be mounted directly to the SPMArray2 detector and pre-amplification electronics to provide a
complete evaluator kit for testing the SPM technology for Nuclear Medicine.
Overall, the SPMArray2 is a flexible, total detector/readout solution and alternative to the PMT for
Nuclear Medicine. Now with the added feature set of pre-amplification, power and direct I/O
readout, plus the evaluation board; it is easier to carry out measurements, the evaluation process
of the SPM technology is faster and hardware requirements are minimized, all without the hassle
of designing custom electronics.