A pixelated silicon positron sensitive imaging probe

A pixelated silicon positron sensitive imaging probe is under development to precisely localize superficially located tumors accumulating 18F-FDG. 18F-FDG has been a radioisotope of interest mainly because of the high uptake in tumors and the relatively short positron range. Silicon detectors have generally low detection efficiency for high energy photons and can be used for positron detection. We present a pixelated silicon positron sensitive imaging probe that has the 1.4-by-1.4-by-1.0 mm pixel size with equivalent electronic noise of ~1.2 keV FWHM. The small pixel size leads to the high spatial resolution. Probe movement in conjunction with appropriate reconstruction will allow sub-pixel resolution to be achieved. In addition the high energy resolution makes it possible to get depth information from the spectrum of deposited beta energies. We discuss data from Monte Carlo simulations, which will be useful for predicting performance of various configurations of completed devices. Also we report preliminary data from a simple experimental setup