Development of a Novel PET Imaging System, Based on Resistive-Plate Chambers (RPC).

The Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC) are charged-particle detectors with excellent spatial and time resolution. Transforming them into gamma-quanta detectors opens the way towards their application as a basic element of a hybrid imaging system, which combines Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). We present results from the optimization of the RPC construction by means of GEANT4 simulations. Several different detector designs and converter materials are investigated to meet the objectives for a prospective RPCPET detector: maximal electron yield for 511 KeV photons and reduced efficiency for registration of lower-energy scattered photons. The efficiency of a multi-gap RPC detector is studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]