title: A prototype high-purity germanium detector system with fast photon-counting circuitry for medical imaging.
abstract: A data-acquisition system designed for x-ray medical imaging utilizes a segmented high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector array with 2-mm wide and 6-mm thick elements. The detectors are contained within a liquid-nitrogen cryostat designed to minimize heat losses. The 50-ns pulse-shaping time of the preamplifier electronics is selected as the shortest time constant compatible with the 50-ns charge collection time of the detector. This provides the detection system with the fastest count-rate capabilities and immunity from microphonics, with moderate energy resolution performance. A theoretical analysis of the preamplifier electronics shows that its noise performance is limited primarily by its input capacitance, and is independent of detector leakage current up to approximately 100 nA. The system experimentally demonstrates count rates exceeding 1 million counts per second per element with an energy resolution of 7 keV for the 60-keV gamma ray photon from 241Am. The results demonstrate the performance of a data acquisition system utilizing HPGe detector systems which would be suitable for dual-energy imaging as well as systems offering simultaneous x-ray transmission and radionuclide emission imaging.
authors.affiliation: University of California San Francisco, Department of Radiology, UCSF Physics Research Laboratory 94080.
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stebler
authors.forename: B K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Rutt
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Gingold
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.forename: K G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Faulkner
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Cann
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Boyd
mesh_terms: D000576:Americium; D005857:Germanium; D006801:Humans; D008433:Mathematics; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed / Q000295:instrumentation*
chemical_list: D005857:Germanium; D000576:Americium