AvanTomography: A compact module for positron emission mammography

Abstract

In AvanTomography project, a compact, high performance module was developed for axial positron emission mammography, which can be integrated with X-ray mammography. With its axial crystal orientation, AvanTomography can achieve a uniform spatial resolution and eliminate the parallax error by unambiguously detecting the location of the positron annihilation. Compact design of the module enables a cost and space efficient system for breast screening. Various configurations, plate or full ring, can be obtained by using multiple modules, allowing the screening of axillary and mammary regions with a single scanner position. In this project, a 6-module system was constructed and tested with a 22Na point source. Energy calibration was performed and initial measurements for energy resolution were conducted.