Next-Generation Scintillation Crystals Developed for Imaging Applications

Innovative scintillation crystal and solid-state photo detector technologies are being developed to help design advanced oncology, neurology, and cardiology imaging equipment.

Zecotek Photonics, Inc. (Vancouver, BC, Canada) has developed a system that removes a significant obstacle in the development of technologies promising to serve as a backbone for next-generation imaging equipment.

"Zecotek is favorably positioned as a global competitor, having been issued or allowed patents for its lutetium fine silicate [LFS] scintillation crystals in many countries and a series of pending and granted patents for its novel solid-state photomultiplier and depth of interaction design considerations,” said Frost & Sullivan (Palo Alto, CA, USA) industry analyst Travis Chong. "The company is integrating all these components into what it has dubbed the ‘Plug to Socket,' a very compact detector module element that captures high resolution images, is easy to install, and requires very low servicing.”

Zecotek develops advanced photodetector and solid-state technologies for PET/CT and other medical applications. The company first developed the micro-pixel avalanche photo diode (MAPD)-1 concept, whose design and performance characteristics served as a solid-state photodetector design template for the industry over the last several years. The MAPD-1 eventually evolved into the MAPD-2 and MAPD-3, providing better electrical efficiency and imaging capabilities than traditional integrated photo multiplier tubes (PMTs) in scanners.

"Specifically, the MAPD design has been demonstrated to withstand strong magnetic environments created by superconducting magnets used in magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] machines--a critical milestone in the pursuit to bring forth PET/MRI from concept to reality,” noted Mr. Chong. "This enabling technology is expected to rapidly accelerate the development and commercialization of PET/MRI, which is currently being carried out through a collaborative partnership between Zecotek and the University of Washington [Seattle, USA].”

The 64-chip MAPD-3 array, combined with Zecotek's LFS scintillation crystals, meets and/or exceeds the performance characteristics of current high-resolution PET/CT scanners. It provides finer electrical efficiency and timing resolution, allowing researchers to improve time-of-flight capabilities of a PET/CT scanner.

Based on its recent analysis of the U.S. positron emission tomography (PET) and PET/computed tomography (CT) market, Frost & Sullivan, an international growth consultancy company, recognized Zecotek Photonics with the 2009 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Enabling Technology.

Zecotek Photonics is a photonics technology company developing leading-edge products: crystals, photo detectors, lasers, imaging, and three-dimensional (3D) display technologies, for medical, biotech, industrial, nanotech, and atomic/molecular science applications.

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