• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.313-318
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• 2019

To improve the sensitivity, a detector using a block scintillator was developed. In the pixelated scintillator, a reflector is located between pixels to move the light generated from the scintillator to the photosensor as much as possible, and sensitivity loss occurs in the reflector portion. In order to improve the sensitivity and to have the characteristics of the pixelated scintillator, the block scintillator was processed into a scintillator in pixel form through three-dimensional laser engraving. The energy spectra and energy resolution of each pixel were measured, and sensitivity analysis of block and pixel scintillator was performed through GATE simulation. The measured global energy resolution was 20.7%, and the sensitivity was 18.5% higher than that of the pixel scintillator. When this detector is applied to imaging devices such as gamma camera and positron emission tomography, it will be possible to shorten the imaging time and reduce the dose of patient by using less radiation source.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.637-643
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• 2018

A depth of interaction(DOI) detector module using a block scintillator and a pixellated scintillator was designed, and layer discrimination ability was calculated using DETECT2000. The block scintillator was used to improve the sensitivity and the spatial resolution was improved by measuring the DOI. The DOI was measured by analyzing the signal characteristics of each channel of the changed distribution of light. The detector module was composed to the block scintillator in the top layer and the pixellated scintillator in the bottom layer, which changes the distribution of light generated from a scintillator interacting with a gamma ray. In the flood image, the top layer was able to acquire the image at the position similar to the position of the bottom layer because the bottom layer consist of the pixellated scintillator. By using the Anger algorithm, the 16 channel signal was reduced to 4 channels to facilitate the analysis of the signal characteristics. The layer discrimination was measured using a simple algorithm and the accuracy was about 84% for each layer. When this detector module is used in preclinical PET, the spatial resolution at the outside of the field of view can be improved by measuring the DOI.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.65-71
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• 2024

To achieve high resolution and sensitivity of positron emission tomography (PET) for small animals, the detector is constructed using very thin and long scintillation pixels. Due to the structure of these scintillation pixels, spatial resolution deterioration occurs outside the system's field of view. To solve this problem, we designed a detector that could improve spatial resolution by measuring the interaction depth and improve sensitivity by using a quasi-block scintillator. A quasi-block scintillator size of 12.6 mm x 12.6 mm x 3 mm was arranged in four layers, and optical sensors were placed on all sides to collect light generated by the interaction between gamma rays and the scintillator. DETECT2000 simulation was performed to evaluate the performance of the designed detector. Flood images were acquired by generating gamma-ray events at 1 mm intervals from 1.3 mm to 11.3 mm within the scintillator of each layer. The spatial resolution and peak-to-peak distance for each location were measured in an 11 x 11 array of flood images. The average measured spatial resolution was 0.25 mm, and the average distance between peaks was 1.0 mm. Through this, it was confirmed that all locations were separated from each other. In addition, because the light signals of all layers were measured separately from each other, the layer of the scintillator that interacted with the gamma rays could be completely separated. When the designed detector is used as a detector in a PET system for small animals, it is considered that excellent spatial resolution and sensitivity can be achieved and image quality can be improved.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.671-677
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• 2023

When a scintillator block is constructed using fine scintillator pixels, the scintillator block located at the edge of the scintillator block results in overlapping images. To solve this problem, a light guide was inserted between the scintillator block and the photosensor, and images of all scintillation pixels were separated and acquired. However, loss of light may occur through the light guide, which eventually affects the quality of the image due to a decrease in energy resolution. Therefore, in this study, a detector was designed that can separate scintilltion pixels better by using a reflector on the side of the light guide and can secre excellent energy resolution by minimizing light loss. For comparative evaluation with previous studies, flood images were obtained through DETECT2000 capable of light simulation, and the degree of separation and light collection rate were evaluated. When a reflector was used on the side of the light guide, all materials showed excellent separation regardless of the material of the light guide, which showed better separation results than previous studies. In addition, the light collection rate was more that five times better when the reflector was applied than when it wa not. If this detector is applied to a small animal positron emission tomography, it will be possilbe to secre excellent image quality through excellent spatial resolution and energy resolution.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.749-756
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• 2024

To improve the sensitivity of preclinical positron emission tomography (PET), a detector was designed using a block scintillator and photosensors placed on four sides. To evaluate the performance of the designed detector, DETECT2000, which can simulate the movement, scattering, and absorption of light in the scintillator, was used. Light generated by the interaction of gamma rays and the scintillator was generated at 3 mm intervals in all directions, and light signals were obtained through the photosensors. The light signals collected from the photosensors were reconstructed into images for the XY plane and depth direction (Z axis) using the Anger equation. It was confirmed that all gamma-ray event locations were separated and imaged in the XY plane images, and it was confirmed that images were separate at all positions in the depth direction (Z axis). This result confirms that the detector designed using a block scintillator for high sensitivity can measure up to the interaction depth layer. It is expected that both sensitivity and spatial resolution can be improved if preclinical PET is configured using this detector.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.661-666
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• 2019

Diverging collimators is used to obtain reduced images of an object, or to detect a wide filed-of-view (FOV) using a small gamma camera. In the gamma camera using the diverging collimators, the block scintillator, and the pixel scintillator array, gamma rays are obliquely incident on the scintillator surface when the source is located the periphery of the FOV. Therefore, the spatial resolution is reduced because it is obliquely detected in depth direction. In this study, we designed a novel system to improve the spatial resolution in the periphery of the FOV. Using a tapered crystal array to configure the scintillation pixels to coincide with the angle of the collimator's hole allows imaging to one scintillation pixel location, even if events occur to different depths. That is, even if is detected at various points in the diagonal direction, the gamma rays interact with one crystal pixel, so resolution does not degrade. The resolution of the block scintillator and the tapered crystal array was compared and evaluated through Geant4 Application for Tomographic Emission (GATE) simulation. The spatial resolution of the obtained image was 4.05 mm in the block scintillator and 2.97 mm in the tapered crystal array. There was a 26.67% spatial resolution improvement in the tapered crystal array compared to the block scintillation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 2002.09a
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• pp.244-247
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• 2002

We examined a possibility to use inorganic plastic scintillator, which has the effective atomic number close to that of human soft tissue, for the measurement of dose distributions in a shorter time period. The method was to irradiate a block of plastic scintillator as a phantom, and to measure the distribution of the scintillation light by a wave length analyzer through a thread of plastic optical fiber. By irradiating the diagnostic x-ray, we observed the emission spectrum of the scintillation light from the scintillator. It showed a peak at around 420nm with a full width of 140 nm. The emission spectrum was integrated to determine the total number of photons. The dependences of the amount of photons on the irradiated dose were measured. The results of the experiment show that the amount of emission light is in proportional to the irradiated dose. From this fact, we conclude that the present method can be used for the measurement of the depth dose distribution of the diagnostic x-rays.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.8
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• pp.1991-1997
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• 2019

In this manuscript, we present a method for the direct calculation of an ambient dose equivalent (H^* (10)) for the external gamma-ray exposure with an energy range of 40 keV to 2 MeV in an electronic personal dosimeter (EPD). The designed EPD consists of a 3 × 3 ㎟ PIN diode coupled to a 3 × 3 × 3 ㎣ CsI (Tl) scintillator block. The spectrum-to-dose conversion function (G(E)) for estimating H^* (10) was calculated by applying the gradient-descent method based on the Monte-Carlo simulation. The optimal parameters for the G(E) were found and this conversion of the H^* (10) from the gamma spectra was verified by using ²⁴¹Am, ¹³⁷Cs, ²²Na, ⁵⁴Mn, and ⁶⁰Co radioisotopes. Furthermore, gamma spectra and H^* (10) were obtained for an arbitrarily mixed multiple isotope case through Monte-Carlo simulation in order to expand the verification to more general cases. The H^* (10) based on the G(E) function for the gamma spectra was then compared with H^* (10) calculated by simulation. The relative difference of H^* (10) from various single-source spectra was in the range of ±2.89%, and the relative difference of H^* (10) for a multiple isotope case was in the range of ±5.56%.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.201-206
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• 2023

In order to improve the spatial resolution of the gamma camera, the size of the hole in the collimator must be reduced, so the sensitivity is reduced. In order to improve the sensitivity, the size of the hole must be increased, and thus the spatial resolution is reduced. In other words, spatial resolution and sensitivity show opposite characteristics. In this study, a gamma camera was designed to improve both spatial resolution and sensitivity. In order to obtain higher sensitivity in gamma cameras with the same spatial resolution, the structure of the scintillator was designed differently from the existing system. A scintillation pixel was used, and a partition wall was placed between the scintillation pixels to prevent incident gamma rays from being transmitted to other scintillation pixels to interact. Geant4 Application for Tomographic Emission (GATE) simulation was performed to evaluate the performance of the designed gamma camera. When the same sensitivity as the block-type scintillator was obtained, the spatial resolution increased by 16.5%, and when the same spatial resolution was obtained, the sensitivity increased by 61.5%. It is considered that the use of the gamma camera designed in this study can improve the sensitivity compared to the existing system while securing excellent spatial resolution.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 2002.09a
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• pp.199-201
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• 2002

Cancer therapy using high-energy $^{12}$ C ions is successfully under way at HIMAC, Japan. An alternative beam to $^{12}$ C is $^{11}$ C ions. The merit of $^{11}$ C over $^{12}$ C is its capability for monitoring spatial distribution of the irradiated $^{11}$ C by observing the $\beta$$^{+}$ decay with a good position resolution. One of the several problems to be solved before its use for therapy is the amount of nuclear interaction that deteriorates the dose concentration owing to the Bragg curve. Utilizing the dedicated secondary beam course for R&D studies at HIMAC, we measured the total energy loss of $^{11}$ C ions in a scintillator block that simulates the soft tissue in human bodies. In addition to the total absorption $^{11}$ C peak, non-negligible bump-shaped contribution is observed in the energy spectrum. The origin of the bump contribution can be nuclear interaction of the incident $^{11}$ C ions with hydrogen and carbon atoms. Further studies to reduce the ambiguity in dose distribution are mentioned.