Development of three-dimensional gamma camera with imaging plates and multi-pinhole collimators

Abstract

We have developed a novel multi-pinhole-type gamma camera for imaging low-energy gamma-ray emitters. The gamma camera consists of Imaging Plates (IPs) and multi-pinhole collimators made of a lead plate with many pinholes in lattice arrangement. The three-dimensional spatial distribution of a gamma-ray source is reconstructed by using a stereoscopic back-projection technique, where the directions of gamma-ray incidence are determined with the digitized two-dimensional images on the IPs and the configuration of the multi-pinhole collimators. The horizontal and vertical spatial resolutions for a point-like 57Co source evaluated with simulations are 1.5 and 2.5 mm, respectively. © 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.