# High-performance and cost-effective detector modules based on ultra-dense and fast ceramic scintillator for long axial field-of-view positron emission tomography

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · 2024 · $533,892

## Abstract

SUMMARY
Positron emission tomography (PET) is unrivaled as a highly specific and sensitive means for tomographic
imaging of molecular interactions and pathways in humans, offering great utility for translational medicine.
Recently, long axial field-of-view PET scanners, which provide excellent geometric coverage, giving much better
detection sensitivity, have been developed. However, cost and performance issues are raised as concerns. To
resolve both cost and performance issues, next generation long axial field-of-view PET detector modules should
employ new scintillators to realize the full performance capabilities of PET at a viable price point.
 A proposed ceramic scintillator has extremely high stopping power and density, better than any currently used
scintillator for PET. The proposed scintillator has a high light yield and an excellent energy resolution. Moreover,
we achieved a very good coincidence timing resolution. In addition, it has a cubic crystal structure allowing
fabrication by ceramic processing, with potential for a major reduction in cost compared with L(Y)SO.
 This proposal is 1) to develop the new ceramic scintillator for PET with large volumes and high clarity, 2) to
characterize the new scintillator as a PET scintillator, 3) to apply the new scintillator array blocks into well-
designed existing PET detector modules to evaluate performance of the new scintillator at the module level, and
finally 4) to develop novel time-of-flight (TOF)-PET detector modules by combining the new ceramic scintillator
and advanced PET readout methods for next-generation PET scanners.
 The proposed ceramic scintillator and PET detector modules are not limited to long axial field-of-view PET
scanners and will be widely usable. The impact of this proposal is that it provides a pathway to 1) realizing long
axial field-of-view scanners with unprecedented sensitivity without a proportional increase in scanner cost and
2) enabling performance advantages in shorter scintillators in terms of reducing DOI effect and improving timing
and energy resolution without losing detection efficiency for next-generation TOF-PET scanners.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10896161
- **Project number:** 5R01EB030538-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Sun Il Kwon
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $533,892
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-01 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10896161

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10896161, High-performance and cost-effective detector modules based on ultra-dense and fast ceramic scintillator for long axial field-of-view positron emission tomography (5R01EB030538-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10896161. Licensed CC0.

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