Scintillation Pulse Processing Method, Apparatus, Device, and Storage Medium
The method addresses the challenge of Compton scattering in PET systems by employing multi-threshold sampling and amplification to accurately recover scintillation pulses, enhancing sensitivity and precision in energy and time information.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2024576719
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2022-12-30
- Filing Date
- 2023-12-19
- Publication Date
- 2025-07-30
- Estimated Expiration
- 2043-12-19
AI Technical Summary
Existing PET systems face challenges in accurately recovering inter-crystal scattering events and achieving high-precision, high-sensitivity sampling of scintillation pulses due to Compton scattering, leading to inaccurate energy information and incorrect pulse collection.
A method involving multi-threshold sampling with preset trigger and sampling thresholds to identify valid scintillation pulses, superimpose them, and determine true single events based on energy and time information, using amplification circuits to enhance signal accuracy.
This approach enables high-precision and high-sensitivity sampling, accurately restoring time, position, and energy information of high-energy particles while preventing false sampling and improving signal-to-noise ratio.
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Figure 2025524503000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present disclosure belongs to the field of data processing, and particularly relates to a method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for processing scintillation pulses.
[0002] (Cross-reference to related applications)
[0003] The present disclosure claims priority based on a Chinese application filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on December 30, 2022, with an application number of 202211731578.5 and a title of "Method, Apparatus, Device, and Storage Medium for Processing Scintillation Pulses", and all of its content is incorporated herein by reference.
Background Art
[0004] Positron Emission Tomography (abbreviated as PET) is a widely used nuclear medicine imaging diagnostic technology clinically. By imaging the radioactive tracer injected into the living body, it provides functional information such as the metabolism of the living body, and plays an important role in clinical diagnosis, evaluation of treatment effects, basic medical research, and new drug development.
[0005] In the prior art, digital sampling of the scintillation pulses output from the detectors in a PET system is realized by a Multi-Voltage Threshold (MVT) circuit. However, during the process of gamma photons traveling, Compton scattering may occur, causing the gamma photons to change in energy, deviate in direction, and accumulate energy in multiple crystal channels of the detector. Such a phenomenon is called inter-crystal scattering. Therefore, it is necessary to recover inter-crystal scattering events and improve the sensitivity of the system.
[0006] When gamma photons are scattered, one or more pulses with relatively low energy are generated. Since the signal collected in the crystal channel is small and there is interference from the body signal, when an independent sampling scheme is adopted for each channel, when the energy is relatively low, the scintillation pulse may not be collected or an incorrect scintillation pulse (for example, an interference signal) may be collected. And for the case of a pulse with low energy, the MVT method has a relatively large error in energy calculation, so that the energy information of the recovered event becomes inaccurate.
Summary of the Invention
[0007] The technical problem to be solved by the embodiments of the present disclosure is how to achieve high-precision and high-sensitivity sampling for scintillation pulses and prevent incorrect sampling.
[0008] To solve the above problems, the present disclosure provides a method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for processing scintillation pulses.
[0009] The first aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for processing scintillation pulses. The processing method includes presetting two trigger thresholds, performing multi-threshold sampling on each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds to obtain first sampling data, determining one or more valid scintillation pulses from the at least two scintillation pulses based on the first sampling data, superimposing the one or more valid scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse, presetting a plurality of sampling thresholds, performing multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the plurality of sampling thresholds to obtain second sampling data, determining whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data, and when the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, determining event information of the true single event based on the first sampling data and the second sampling data.
[0010] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the step of determining one or more valid scintillation pulses from the at least two scintillation pulses based on the first sampling data includes determining whether the first sampling data includes a relatively large trigger threshold among the two trigger thresholds for any scintillation pulse, and when the first sampling data includes the relatively large trigger threshold among the two trigger thresholds, determining that the scintillation pulse is the valid scintillation pulse.
[0011] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the step of superimposing the one or more effective scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse includes: amplifying each of the effective scintillation pulses by one or more first amplification circuits installed in parallel to obtain one or more amplified scintillation pulses; and amplifying an intermediate scintillation pulse obtained by summing the one or more amplified scintillation pulses input thereto by a second amplification circuit installed in series with the one or more first amplification circuits installed in parallel to obtain the target scintillation pulse.
[0012] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the plurality of sampling thresholds are determined based on empirical data and / or prior information of the scintillation pulse, and the maximum sampling threshold among the plurality of sampling thresholds is close to the maximum amplitude of the scintillation pulse corresponding to a true single event.
[0013] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the step of determining whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data includes: determining whether the maximum sampling threshold is included in the second sampling data; and when the maximum sampling threshold is included in the second sampling data, determining that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.
[0014] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the step of determining whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data includes: performing pulse fitting on the target scintillation pulse based on the second sampling data to determine a fitting pulse waveform; determining an energy value corresponding to the target scintillation pulse based on the fitting pulse waveform; determining whether the energy value meets a predetermined condition; and when the energy value meets the predetermined condition, determining that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.
[0015] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the target time information includes energy information, and determining the energy information includes determining the energy information based on the energy value when the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.
[0016] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, for any valid scintillation pulse, the first sampling data includes a first rising time when the valid scintillation pulse first exceeds a relatively small trigger threshold, a first falling time when the valid scintillation pulse exceeds the relatively small trigger threshold for the second time, a second rising time when the valid scintillation pulse first exceeds a relatively large trigger threshold, and a second falling time when the valid scintillation pulse exceeds the relatively large trigger threshold for the second time.
[0017] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the event information includes time information, and determining the time information includes determining the minimum rising time among the first rising times corresponding to the one or more valid scintillation pulses, and using the minimum rising time as the time information.
[0018] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the event information includes time information. Determining the time information includes determining the relative energy corresponding to each valid scintillation pulse, and using the first rising time corresponding to the maximum relative energy among the relative energies as the time information. The relative energy is the difference between the second falling time and the first rising time.
[0019] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the at least two scintillation pulses are generated by a crystal channel of a radiation detection device. The event information includes position information. Determining the position information includes determining the position mark of the crystal channel corresponding to the valid scintillation pulse corresponding to the time information, and using the position mark as the position information.
[0020] A second aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for processing scintillation pulses. The processing method includes presetting two trigger thresholds, performing multi-threshold sampling on each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds to obtain first sampling data, superimposing the at least two scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse, presetting a plurality of sampling thresholds, performing multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the plurality of sampling thresholds to obtain second sampling data, determining whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data, and when the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, determining event information of the true single event based on the first sampling data and the second sampling data.
[0021] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the step of superimposing the at least two scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse includes: amplifying the at least two scintillation pulses respectively by at least two first amplification circuits arranged in parallel to obtain at least two amplified scintillation pulses; and amplifying an intermediate scintillation pulse obtained by summing the at least two amplified scintillation pulses input thereto by a second amplification circuit arranged in series with the at least two first amplification circuits arranged in parallel to obtain the target scintillation pulse.
[0022] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the plurality of sampling thresholds are determined based on empirical data and / or prior information of the scintillation pulse, and the maximum sampling threshold among the plurality of sampling thresholds is close to the maximum amplitude of the scintillation pulse corresponding to a true single event.
[0023] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the step of determining whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data includes: determining whether the maximum sampling threshold is included in the second sampling data; and when the maximum sampling threshold is included in the second sampling data, determining that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.
[0024] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the step of determining whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data includes: performing pulse fitting on the target scintillation pulse based on the second sampling data to determine a fitting pulse waveform; determining an energy value corresponding to the target scintillation pulse based on the fitting pulse waveform; determining whether the energy value satisfies a predetermined condition; and when the energy value satisfies the predetermined condition, determining that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.
[0025] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the target time information includes energy information, and determining the energy information includes determining the energy information based on the energy value when the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.
[0026] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a scintillation pulse including a relatively large trigger threshold in the first sampling data is a valid scintillation pulse. For any valid scintillation pulse, the first sampling data includes a first rising time when the valid scintillation pulse first exceeds a relatively small trigger threshold, a first falling time when the valid scintillation pulse exceeds the relatively small trigger threshold for the second time, a second rising time when the valid scintillation pulse first exceeds a relatively large trigger threshold, and a second falling time when the valid scintillation pulse exceeds the relatively large trigger threshold for the second time.
[0027] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the event information includes time information, and determining the time information includes determining a minimum rising time among the first rising times corresponding to one or more valid scintillation pulses, and using the minimum rising time as the time information.
[0028] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the event information includes time information. Determining the time information includes determining the relative energy corresponding to each valid scintillation pulse, and using the first rising time corresponding to the maximum relative energy among the relative energies as the time information. The relative energy is the difference between the second falling time and the first rising time.
[0029] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the at least two scintillation pulses are generated by a crystal channel of a radiation detection device. The event information includes position information. Determining the position information includes determining the position mark of the crystal channel corresponding to the valid scintillation pulse corresponding to the time information, and using the position mark as the position information.
[0030] A third aspect of the present disclosure provides an apparatus for processing scintillation pulses. The apparatus includes a first sampling module, a first determination module, a first addition module, a second sampling module, a second determination module, and a first information acquisition module. The first sampling module is configured to preset two trigger thresholds and perform multi-threshold sampling on each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds to obtain first sampling data. The first determination module is configured to determine one or more valid scintillation pulses from the at least two scintillation pulses based on the first sampling data. The first addition module is configured to superimpose the one or more valid scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse. The second sampling module is configured to preset a plurality of sampling thresholds and perform multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the plurality of sampling thresholds to obtain second sampling data. The second determination module is configured to determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data. The first information acquisition module is configured to determine event information of the true single event based on the first sampling data and / or the second sampling data when the target scintillation pulse corresponds to the true single event.
[0031] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, based on the first sampling data, to determine one or more valid scintillation pulses from the at least two scintillation pulses, the first determination module is configured to determine whether the first sampling data includes a relatively large trigger threshold among the trigger thresholds for any scintillation pulse. When the first sampling data includes the relatively large trigger threshold among the trigger thresholds, the first determination module is configured to determine that the scintillation pulse is a valid scintillation pulse.
[0032] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, in order to superimpose the one or more effective scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse, the first addition module is configured to amplify each of the effective scintillation pulses by one or more first amplification circuits installed in parallel to obtain one or more amplified scintillation pulses, and amplify an intermediate scintillation pulse obtained by summing the one or more amplified scintillation pulses input by a second amplification circuit installed in series with the one or more first amplification circuits installed in parallel to obtain the target scintillation pulse.
[0033] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the plurality of sampling thresholds are determined based on empirical data and / or prior information of the scintillation pulse, and the maximum sampling threshold among the plurality of sampling thresholds is close to the maximum amplitude of the scintillation pulse corresponding to a true single event.
[0034] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, in order to determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data, the second determination module determines whether the maximum sampling threshold is included in the second sampling data, and if the maximum sampling threshold is included in the second sampling data, is configured to determine that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.
[0035] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, based on the second sampling data, to determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, the second determination module performs pulse fitting on the target scintillation pulse based on the second sampling data to determine a fitting pulse waveform, determines an energy value corresponding to the target scintillation pulse based on the fitting pulse waveform, determines whether the energy value meets a predetermined condition, and is configured to determine that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event when the energy value meets the predetermined condition.
[0036] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the target time information includes energy information. To determine the energy information, the first information acquisition module is configured to determine the energy information based on the energy value when the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.
[0037] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, for any valid scintillation pulse, the first sampling data includes a first rising time when the valid scintillation pulse first exceeds a relatively small trigger threshold, a first falling time when the valid scintillation pulse exceeds the relatively small trigger threshold for the second time, a second rising time when the valid scintillation pulse first exceeds a relatively large trigger threshold, and a second falling time when the valid scintillation pulse exceeds the relatively large trigger threshold for the second time.
[0038] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the event information includes time information. To determine the time information, the first information acquisition module is configured to determine the minimum rising time among the first rising times corresponding to the one or more valid scintillation pulses and use the minimum rising time as the time information.
[0039] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the event information includes time information. To determine the time information, the first information acquisition module is configured to determine the relative energy corresponding to each valid scintillation pulse, and use the first rising time corresponding to the maximum relative energy among the relative energies as the time information. The relative energy is the difference between the second falling time and the first rising time.
[0040] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the at least two scintillation pulses are generated by the crystal channels of a radiation detection device. The event information includes position information. To determine the position information, the first information acquisition module is configured to determine the position mark of the crystal channel corresponding to the valid scintillation pulse corresponding to the time information, and use the position mark as the position information.
[0041] A fourth aspect of the present disclosure provides an apparatus for processing scintillation pulses. The apparatus includes a third sampling module, a second addition module, a fourth sampling module, a third determination module, and a second information acquisition module. The third sampling module is configured to preset two trigger thresholds and perform multi-threshold sampling on each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds to obtain first sampling data. The second addition module is configured to superimpose the at least two scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse. The fourth sampling module is configured to preset a plurality of sampling thresholds and perform multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the plurality of sampling thresholds to obtain second sampling data. The third determination module is configured to determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data. The second information acquisition module is configured to determine event information of the true single event based on the first sampling data and / or the second sampling data when the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.
[0042] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, to superimpose the at least two scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse, the second addition module is configured to amplify each of the at least two scintillation pulses by at least two first amplification circuits installed in parallel to obtain at least two amplified scintillation pulses, and amplify an intermediate scintillation pulse obtained by summing the at least two amplified scintillation pulses input thereto by a second amplification circuit installed in series with the at least two first amplification circuits installed in parallel to obtain the target scintillation pulse.
[0043] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the plurality of sampling thresholds are determined based on empirical data and / or prior information of the scintillation pulses, and the maximum sampling threshold among the plurality of sampling thresholds is close to the maximum amplitude of the scintillation pulse corresponding to a true single event.
[0044] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, based on the second sampling data, to determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, the third determination module determines whether the maximum sampling threshold is included in the second sampling data, and when the maximum sampling threshold is included in the second sampling data, it is configured to determine that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.
[0045] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, based on the second sampling data, to determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, the third determination module performs pulse fitting on the target scintillation pulse based on the second sampling data to determine a fitting pulse waveform, determines an energy value corresponding to the target scintillation pulse based on the fitting pulse waveform, determines whether the energy value meets a predetermined condition, and when the energy value meets the predetermined condition, it is configured to determine that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.
[0046] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the target time information includes energy information, and to determine the energy information, the second information acquisition module is configured to determine the energy information based on the energy value when the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.
[0047] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a scintillation pulse shown to exceed a relatively large one of the two trigger thresholds by the first sampling data is a valid scintillation pulse, and for any valid scintillation pulse, the first sampling data includes a first rise time when the valid scintillation pulse first exceeds the relatively small trigger threshold, a first fall time when the valid scintillation pulse exceeds the relatively small trigger threshold for the second time, as well as a second rise time when the valid scintillation pulse first exceeds the relatively large trigger threshold, and a second fall time when the valid scintillation pulse exceeds the relatively large trigger threshold for the second time.
[0048] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the event information includes time information, and in order to determine the time information, the second information acquisition module is configured to determine a minimum rise time among the first rise times corresponding to one or more valid scintillation pulses, and use the minimum rise time as the time information.
[0049] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the event information includes time information, and in order to determine the time information, the second information acquisition module is configured to determine the relative energy corresponding to each valid scintillation pulse, and use the first rise time corresponding to the maximum relative energy among the relative energies as the time information, where the relative energy is the difference between the second fall time and the first rise time.
[0050] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the at least two scintillation pulses are generated by a crystal channel of a radiation detection device, the event information includes position information, and in order to determine the position information, the second information acquisition module is configured to determine a position mark of the crystal channel corresponding to the valid scintillation pulse corresponding to the time information, and use the position mark as the position information.
[0051] The fifth aspect of the present disclosure provides an apparatus for processing scintillation pulses. The apparatus includes a scintillation pulse processing circuit board, and the processing circuit board is configured to perform a multi-threshold sampling operation on the scintillation pulses so as to implement the above-described method for processing scintillation pulses.
[0052] The sixth aspect of the present disclosure provides a processing device. The processing device includes the above-described apparatus for processing scintillation pulses.
[0053] The seventh aspect of the present disclosure provides a processing device. The processing device includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable by the processor. When the computer program is executed by the processor, the steps of the above-described method are implemented.
[0054] The eighth aspect of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium. A computer program is stored in the storage medium, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the above-described method are implemented.
[0055] The method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for processing scintillation pulses according to the present disclosure can limit the time information and energy width of a true single event based on the durations of two thresholds, have high reliability, and can prevent false sampling. And by using multi-threshold sampling as well, the time information, position information, and energy information of the incidence of high-energy particles can be accurately restored.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0056] The present disclosure will be further described with reference to exemplary embodiments. These exemplary embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. These embodiments are not limiting. In these embodiments, like reference numerals represent like structures.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0057] To make the above objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure clearer, specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. To fully understand the present disclosure, many specific details will be described in the following description. It should be noted that the present disclosure can be implemented in many other ways different from the description here, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific examples disclosed below.
[0058] When an element is "fixed" to another element, the element may be directly fixed to the other element or may be done via an intermediate element. When one element is connected to another element, the element may be directly connected to the other element or may be done via an intermediate element. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "left", "right" and similar expressions used in this application are for illustrative purposes only.
[0059] All technical and scientific terms used in this application have the meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art related to the present disclosure. The terms used in the specification of the present disclosure are for illustrative purposes of specific examples only and do not limit the present disclosure. The term "and / or" used in this application includes any combination and all combinations of the listed multiple related items.
[0060] Hereinafter, some preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The following is for illustrative purposes only and does not limit the protection scope of the present disclosure.
[0061] FIG. 1 is an exemplary flowchart of a method for processing scintillation pulses according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the method 100 for processing scintillation pulses is executed by a first data processing system 800. For example, the method 100 for processing scintillation pulses is stored in a storage device (e.g., a built-in storage unit or an external storage device of the first data processing system 800) in the form of a program or command, and when the program or command is executed, the method 100 for processing scintillation pulses is realized. As shown in FIG. 1, the method 100 for processing scintillation pulses includes the following steps.
[0062] Step 110: Preset two trigger thresholds, perform multi-threshold sampling on each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds, and obtain first sampling data.
[0063] In some embodiments, the at least two scintillation pulses are obtained by a radiation detection device, such as a scintillation detector. The scintillation detector includes a scintillator crystal and a photoelectric conversion device coupled to each other. The scintillator crystal (e.g., BGO, PWO, LYSO:Ce, GAGG:Ce, NaI:TI, CsI:TI, LaBr3:Ce, BaF2, etc.) is configured to convert detected high-energy radiation (e.g., gamma rays, neutron rays, etc.) into a visible light signal, and the photoelectric conversion device (e.g., a photomultiplier tube PMT, a silicon photomultiplier tube SiPM, etc.) is configured to convert the visible light signal into an electrical signal, and the electrical signal is output in the form of a scintillation pulse by an electronic device connected to the photoelectric conversion device.
[0064] Figure 2 is an exemplary schematic diagram of a crystal channel of a radiation detection device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The crystal of the radiation detection device (e.g., a scintillation detector) has a plurality of crystal channels independent of each other. For example, the crystal is regularly cut or divided, and each part is independently coupled to one photoelectric conversion device (e.g., a silicon photomultiplier SiPM) to form one crystal channel. As shown in Figure 2, the scintillation detector includes 6×6 = 36 independent crystal channels. When a high-energy particle (e.g., a gamma photon) enters a certain crystal channel (e.g., the 10th crystal channel shown in Figure 5), energy is accumulated in the crystal channel. The photoelectric conversion device coupled to the crystal channel generates one scintillation pulse signal. This is called a single event. However, in the above process, photon scattering is not considered. In fact, after a gamma photon enters a certain crystal channel (i.e., after it enters the crystal), Compton scattering may occur. The gamma photon changes in energy, its direction is shifted, and energy is accumulated in multiple crystal channels, and multiple scintillation pulses are output. That is, after one gamma photon is captured by the scintillation detector, single events may occur in multiple channels. As shown in Figure 5, after the gamma photon enters the 10th crystal channel, Compton scattering occurs. After the direction is shifted, energy is accumulated in the 15th crystal channel, the 24th crystal channel, and the 28th crystal channel. Therefore, four single events are generated by one gamma photon. These single events include target single events and scattered single events. The target single event refers to an event in which energy accumulation occurs first in a certain crystal channel and a scintillation pulse is generated, and the scattered single event refers to an event in which a scintillation pulse is generated in another crystal channel due to photon scattering. In the sampling process of the scintillation pulse, the desired event is a true single event, that is, an event in which a target high-energy particle (e.g., a gamma photon) enters a crystal channel, energy accumulation occurs, and a scintillation pulse is generated.It is necessary to remove noise signals caused by other reasons (such as changes in the state of equipment, etc.). It is necessary to recover multiple scintillation pulses caused by scattering. For example, in order to make subsequent calculations more accurate, the scintillation pulses corresponding to each of the target single event and the scattered single event are superimposed and recovered.
[0065] In some embodiments, the two trigger thresholds are for determining the time point when the amplitude of the scintillation pulse exceeds the trigger threshold when compared with the amplitude of the scintillation pulse. By setting two trigger thresholds for comparison with the scintillation pulse, false detection of noise signals can be effectively prevented. In some embodiments, the types of the two trigger thresholds are determined based on the representation form of the scintillation pulse. As an example, the scintillation pulse is an electrical scintillation pulse, an acoustic scintillation pulse, a thermal scintillation pulse, a pressure wave signal, or the like. The energy index for representing the scintillation pulse is voltage, current, acoustic intensity, heat quantity, pressure, etc. The threshold value is a voltage threshold value, a current threshold value, an acoustic intensity threshold value, a heat quantity threshold value, a pressure threshold value, etc.
[0066] In some embodiments, the two threshold values are determined based on empirical data and / or prior information of the scintillation pulses. For example, taking electrical pulses as an illustration, from the analysis of the statistical data of a large number of electrical pulses caused by high-energy particles generated by a radiation source, there are times when the amplitude of the scintillation pulses is relatively small. When directly sampling, the set threshold value becomes very small, which is disadvantageous for sampling. Therefore, a certain degree of conversion is performed on the scintillation pulses (conversion for the signal, changing the shape of the signal without changing its substantial content, and here only converting the height), increasing the amplitude of the scintillation pulses. Exemplarily, a predetermined height is set to 625 mV. Also, referring to prior data, it is determined that the maximum amplitude of the noise signal is generally about 50 mV. Therefore, the two trigger threshold values can be 625 mV and 675 mV. That is, the relatively large trigger threshold value is obtained by adding 50 mV to 625 mV. By setting it in this way, the noise signal can be better filtered in sampling.
[0067] FIG. 3 is an exemplary schematic diagram showing the sampling of scintillation pulses according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, a certain scintillation pulse 300 among the at least two scintillation pulses is an electrical pulse, and the two set trigger thresholds are V1 and V2, satisfying V1 < V2. As time elapses, the rising edge of the scintillation pulse 300 crosses the trigger threshold V1 from bottom to top at time t0 and crosses the trigger threshold V2 from bottom to top at time t1. Then, the falling edge of the scintillation pulse 300 crosses the trigger threshold V2 from top to bottom at time t2 and crosses the trigger threshold V1 from top to bottom at time t3. The obtained four sampling point data include (V1, t0), (V2, t1), (V2, t2), and (V1, t3). Of course, among the at least two scintillation pulses, there may be a scintillation pulse that crosses only one trigger threshold or a scintillation pulse that does not cross the trigger threshold. All the sampling point data constitute the first sampling data.
[0068] In actual sampling, the waveform of the pulse is not as smooth as that shown in FIG. 3, but has many fluctuations. Specifically, it rises or falls with fluctuations up and down along the waveform shown in FIG. 3. The smooth waveform shown in FIG. 3 is for the convenience of explanation. Therefore, in the actual sampling process, at the rising edge or the falling edge, the waveform may cross the same threshold multiple times within a very short time. When actually performing sampling, the average time of the time when the threshold is crossed multiple times within a certain time window or time period is taken as the period when the threshold is crossed. Since this can be easily realized by those skilled in the art based on the suggestion of the present disclosure, the description is omitted here.
[0069] FIG. 4 is an exemplary schematic diagram of a scintillation pulse sampling circuit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the sampling circuit shown in FIG. 4 can sample the at least two scintillation pulses using two trigger thresholds to obtain the first sampling data. As shown in FIG. 4, CH1 is the number of a crystal channel, which represents the first crystal channel as an example here. Simp1 represents a photoelectric conversion device (e.g., a silicon photomultiplier) coupled to the first crystal channel. The scintillation pulses output from Simp1 are input to two comparators installed in parallel. For example, in some embodiments, the comparator can be realized by the LVDS (Low-Voltage Differential Signaling) pins of the FPGA chip on the circuit board (in this case, the circuit board can be called an MVT sampling board). Each LVDS comparator receives an input of a scintillation pulse and one trigger threshold. For example, two DACs (Digital-to-Analog Converters) input two preset trigger thresholds (e.g., V1 and V2) to the two LVDS comparators respectively. Two time-to-digital converters (TDCs) for determining the sampling time points of the rising edge and the falling edge of the scintillation pulse are connected to each of the comparators respectively. For example, when the scintillation pulse exceeds the trigger threshold, the comparator outputs a state transition signal. The TDC can perform time-to-digital sampling on the state transition signal to determine the time. For example, the two TDCs connected to one comparator are configured to determine the time t0 when the rising edge of the scintillation pulse crosses the trigger threshold V1 from bottom to top and the time t3 when the falling edge of the scintillation pulse crosses the trigger threshold V1 from top to bottom.The two TDCs connected to another comparator are configured to determine the time t1 when the rising edge of the scintillation pulse crosses the trigger threshold V2 from bottom to top and the time t2 when the falling edge of the scintillation pulse crosses the trigger threshold V2 from top to bottom. Of course, when the scintillation pulse does not cross a certain trigger threshold, the comparator does not output a signal to the TDC.
[0070] Step 120: Based on the first sampling data, determine one or more valid scintillation pulses from the at least two scintillation pulses.
[0071] In some embodiments, for any scintillation pulse, it is determined whether the scintillation pulse is a valid scintillation pulse by determining whether the first sampling data includes a relatively large trigger threshold. Setting two trigger thresholds in step 110 is to limit the energy width required for a single event. In this way, noise signals can be effectively filtered, and the reliability is high. In the above example, the two set trigger thresholds V1 and V2 satisfy V1 < V2. It can be determined whether the first sampling data includes the sampling point data related to the scintillation pulse exceeding V2. If not, it means that the scintillation pulse does not exceed the relatively large trigger threshold and corresponds to a noise signal. If included, it means that the scintillation pulse is a valid scintillation pulse and corresponds to the above-mentioned target single event or scattered single event.
[0072] Step 130: Superimpose the one or more valid scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse.
[0073] Referring to the above description, when scattering occurs after high-energy particles (e.g., gamma photons) enter the crystal channel, the energy is dispersed. To accurately calculate the energy, these effective scintillation pulses are superimposed, and the energy width of the obtained target scintillation pulse can be the sum of the energies of the amplitudes of these effective scintillation pulses. The result of processing the target scintillation pulse becomes more accurate.
[0074] In some embodiments, one or more first amplification circuits installed in parallel amplify the one or more effective scintillation pulses respectively to obtain one or more first amplified scintillation pulses. A second amplification circuit installed in series with the one or more first amplification circuits installed in parallel amplifies the intermediate scintillation pulse obtained by the sum of the one or more first amplified scintillation pulses input thereto to obtain a second amplified scintillation pulse. Further, the target scintillation pulse can be determined based on the second amplified scintillation pulse. This will be exemplarily described with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is an exemplary schematic diagram of a superimposing circuit for superimposing scintillation pulses according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, CH1 to CH36 represent the numbers of crystal channels, and there are a total of 36 crystal channels. Simp1 to Simp36 each represent a photoelectric conversion device (e.g., a silicon photomultiplier tube) coupled to the crystal channel. The scintillation pulses output by the photoelectric conversion devices of each channel (when present and confirmed to be effective scintillation pulses) are input to their corresponding first amplification circuits (shown in the dashed frame A in FIG. 5). The resistance R1 and R installed in the circuit f can be used to determine the amplification value k1 of the first amplification circuit, where k1 = 1 + (R f / R1). Here, the amplification of the effective scintillation pulse can be an energy amplification, that is, an increase in the maximum amplitude. Each effective scintillation pulse processed by the first amplification circuit is added to obtain an intermediate scintillation pulse. Replace the maximum amplitude with energy, and let the maximum amplitude of the first amplified scintillation pulse output by the first amplification circuit be E n If it is set to (1 ≤ n ≤ 36), the maximum amplitude Em of the intermediate scintillation pulse obtained by addition is TIFF2025524503000002.tif16170. The second amplification circuit (shown in the dashed box B in FIG. 5) connected in series to the plurality of first amplification circuits connected in parallel receives the intermediate scintillation pulse and performs a second amplification. The resistors R1 and R installed in the circuit f can be used to determine the amplification value k2 of the second amplification circuit, and k2 = (R f / R1). The maximum amplitude of the scintillation pulse (that is, the target scintillation pulse) output by the second amplification circuit is TIFF2025524503000003.tif13170. By performing amplification and addition on the pulse, the ratio of the unremoved noise signal in the above steps to the target scintillation pulse can be reduced, the signal-to-noise ratio of the pulse signal can be increased, and the interference resistance can be improved.
[0075] Step 140: Preset a plurality of sampling thresholds, perform multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the plurality of sampling thresholds, and obtain second sampling data.
[0076] In some embodiments, the plurality of sampling thresholds are determined based on empirical data and / or prior information of the scintillation pulses. For example, taking an electrical pulse as an example, from the analysis of the statistical data of a large number of electrical pulses caused by high-energy particles generated by a radiation source, the amplification factor of the reference voltage of the radiation source is determined, and this factor is the same as the factor used when acquiring the target scintillation pulse (that is, amplified by k1×k2 times), and as a result of amplification, it is about 69 mV (when amplifying, insulation is performed on the direct current, so the reference voltage becomes smaller). The minimum sampling threshold among the plurality of sampling thresholds can be set to be about 50 mV to 60 mV larger than 69 mV. For example, the minimum sampling threshold is 120 mV. The plurality of sampling thresholds can be set based on the maximum amplitude of the scintillation pulse corresponding to a true single event. For example, in a PET examination, a pair of gamma photons generated by pair annihilation both have an energy of 511 keV, and the maximum amplitude of the corresponding scintillation pulse is close to 400 mV after amplification. After the gamma photons enter the crystal channel and energy is accumulated, if there is no scattering, the maximum amplitude of the scintillation pulse generated by the combined photoelectric conversion device is also close to 400 mV after amplification. Therefore, the maximum sampling threshold among the plurality of sampling thresholds can be set to 400 mV or a value close thereto, whereby the obtained sampling data can better restore the waveform and energy of the scintillation pulse corresponding to a true single event. When setting the plurality of sampling thresholds, the amplification process when acquiring the target scintillation pulse is considered.
[0077] In some embodiments, the intervals between the plurality of sampling thresholds are equal. That is, the plurality of sampling thresholds form an arithmetic progression. Taking the voltage threshold as an example, assuming that among the plurality of sampling thresholds, the minimum sampling threshold is 120 mV and the maximum sampling threshold is 400 mV, eight sampling thresholds of 120 mV, 160 mV, 200 mV, 240 mV, 280 mV, 320 mV, 360 mV, and 400 mV can be set with a threshold interval of 40 mV. The threshold interval may be other values, for example, 10 mV, 20 mV, 30 mV, etc., but is not specifically limited in this disclosure. In some embodiments, the intervals between the plurality of sampling thresholds may not be equal. For example, the threshold interval increases as the number of sampling thresholds increases. For example, the interval between the minimum sampling threshold and the second smallest sampling threshold is 10 mV, the interval between the second smallest sampling threshold and the third smallest sampling threshold is 20 mV, and so on.
[0078] In some embodiments, other features of the sampling threshold are the same as or similar to the trigger threshold. For example, the type of sampling threshold can be a voltage threshold, a current threshold, an acoustic intensity threshold, a heat quantity threshold, a pressure threshold, etc. according to the representation form of the scintillation pulse.
[0079] In some embodiments, the sampling circuit for sampling the target scintillation pulse based on the plurality of sampling thresholds is similar to the sampling circuit shown in FIG. 4, and is different from the sampling circuit shown in FIG. 4 only in that it includes a plurality of comparators connected in parallel in the same number as the number of the plurality of sampling thresholds. Assuming that there are eight sampling thresholds, the sampling circuit includes eight comparators, and each of the comparators receives an input of a target scintillation pulse and one sampling threshold. Similarly, the DAC is used to set the sampling threshold. Two TDCs are connected to each of the comparators. When the target scintillation pulse exceeds the sampling threshold, the comparator outputs a state transition signal. The TDC can perform time-digital sampling on the state transition signal to determine the time. After the target scintillation pulse exceeds each of the eight sampling thresholds, 16 times are determined by the TDC. As a result, through sampling, at most 16 threshold-time pairs can be obtained. These threshold-time pairs constitute the second sampling data.
[0080] Step 150: Based on the second sampling data, determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.
[0081] In some embodiments, it is determined whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event by determining whether the maximum sampling threshold is included in the second sampling data. Referring to the above setting regarding the sampling threshold, by setting the maximum sampling threshold to be close to the maximum amplitude of the scintillation pulse corresponding to a true single event, true single events can be effectively selected. If the second sampling data includes a threshold-time pair corresponding to the maximum sampling threshold, it is determined that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event. That is, one or more (for example, two or more) effective scintillation pulses forming the target scintillation pulse due to superposition include a target single event and a scattered single event (for example, scattering occurs), or the effective scintillation pulse itself corresponds to a true single event (for example, no scattering occurs). Otherwise, one or more effective scintillation pulses forming the target scintillation pulse due to superposition correspond to scattered single events, energy calculation is unnecessary, and all are rejected.
[0082] In some embodiments, the second sampling data is used to perform fitting on the target scintillation pulse. Exemplarily, first, a function model representing the waveform shape of the target scintillation pulse is determined. Assuming that the function model is y = a×f(x) + b and the parameters to be fitted are a and b. Using the threshold in the threshold-time pair included in the second sampling data as y and the time as x, fitting data is constituted. Function fitting is performed by the least squares method to determine a and b of the parameters to be fitted. The equation of the function model after the parameters are determined can represent the fitting pulse waveform (the pulse waveform obtained by fitting) of the target scintillation pulse. For example, it is a curve shape shown in a coordinate system.
[0083] In some embodiments, based on the fitting pulse waveform, the energy value corresponding to the target scintillation pulse can be determined. For example, integrating the fitting pulse waveform, the obtained integral value is the above energy value. By determining whether the energy value satisfies a predetermined condition, it can be determined whether the target pulse corresponds to a true single event. The energy of the high-energy particles generating the scintillation pulse is a constant value. For example, the energy of gamma photons is 511 keV. Exemplarily, as the predetermined condition, after the energy value is reduced (for example, the reduction magnification is the amplification magnification used when acquiring the target scintillation pulse), it is 511 keV or more. When the energy value of the target pulse becomes 511 keV or more after being reduced, the energy value is a valid energy value, and it is determined that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event. One or more valid scintillation pulses (for example, two or more) forming the target scintillation pulse by superposition include a target single event and a scattered single event (for example, scattering occurs), or the valid scintillation pulse itself corresponds to a true single event (for example, no scattering occurs). Otherwise, one or more valid scintillation pulses forming the target scintillation pulse by superposition correspond to scattered single events, energy calculation is not required, and all are rejected.
[0084] Step 160: Based on the first sampling data and the second sampling data, determine the event information of the true single event.
[0085] In some embodiments, the event information includes energy information. The energy information represents the energy value of the scintillation pulse corresponding to the true single event. When the target scintillation pulse obtained by superimposing one or more valid scintillation pulses corresponds to a true single event, the one or more valid scintillation pulses are generated when a target high-energy particle (for example, a gamma photon in a PET system) enters a crystal channel and energy accumulation occurs (regardless of whether scattering occurs), and correspond to the pulse signal to be sampled. At this time, the energy value corresponding to the target scintillation pulse is reduced to obtain the energy information.
[0086] In some embodiments, the event information further includes time information. The time information can represent the time when the true single event occurs. One or more valid scintillation pulses must include the scintillation pulse corresponding to the target single event (without scattering), and may further include the scintillation pulse corresponding to the scattered single event (with scattering). As can be seen from the characteristics of these scintillation pulses, the scintillation pulse corresponding to the target single event has the highest energy and the earliest occurrence time. Therefore, the time information can be determined based on the sampling data of the scintillation pulse corresponding to the target single event.
[0087] In some embodiments, for any valid scintillation pulse, the first sampling data includes the first rising time when the valid scintillation pulse first crosses the relatively smaller of the two trigger thresholds, the first falling time when the relatively smaller trigger threshold is crossed for the second time, as well as the second rising time when the valid scintillation pulse first crosses the relatively larger of the two trigger thresholds, and the second falling time when the relatively larger trigger threshold is crossed for the second time. As shown in FIG. 3, the first rising time is t0, and the first falling time is t3. The second rising time is t1, and the second falling time is t2. The time when the valid scintillation pulse first crosses the threshold is regarded as the time when a high-energy particle reaches the crystal channel and generates a corresponding single event, and is recorded as T_S = t0. By comparing the minimum rising time among the first rising times corresponding to the one or more valid scintillation pulses, the time information can be determined. Exemplarily, the magnitudes of T_S for all valid scintillation pulses are determined, and the minimum T_S is determined as the time information and regarded as the occurrence time of the true single event.
[0088] In some embodiments, the energy of the effective scintillation pulse may be represented by the pulse width. For example, the higher the energy of the scintillation pulse, the larger the amplitude, the longer the duration, and thus the longer the duration when exceeding one threshold. The pulse width may be referred to as the relative energy of the effective scintillation pulse. In the present disclosure, the relative energy can be determined from the first sampling data to identify the effective scintillation pulse corresponding to the target true event. In some embodiments, the difference between the second fall time and the first rise time is used as the relative energy. That is, the relative energy E_S = t2 - t0. In the case of the conventional method, it is common to determine using one threshold, which is relatively simple but is easily interfered with and has low reliability. In the present disclosure, by determining the pulse width using two thresholds, the energy width required for the event can be limited and the reliability is high. After determining the relative energy of all the effective scintillation pulses, the first rise time corresponding to the maximum relative energy among the relative energies is designated as the time information. That is, the first rise time of the effective scintillation pulse having the maximum relative energy is used as the time information of the true single event.
[0089] In some embodiments, the event information further includes location information. The location information represents the location where the true single event occurred. Referring to the above content, the one or more valid pulse signals are generated by the crystal channels of the radiation detection device. For example, high-energy particles enter the crystal channel, energy is accumulated, and a scintillation pulse is generated by a photoelectric conversion member coupled to the crystal channel. After each scintillation pulse is generated, the crystal channel that generated the scintillation pulse is recorded and stored. To determine the location information, the location mark of the crystal channel corresponding to the valid scintillation pulse corresponding to the time information can be determined. The valid scintillation pulse is the earliest generated scintillation pulse, and the true single event occurs within the crystal channel corresponding to the valid scintillation pulse. Therefore, the location mark of the crystal channel (for example, the 10th crystal channel shown in FIG. 2) is regarded as the location information of the true single event.
[0090] The above description of each step shown in FIG. 1 is only for illustrative purposes and does not limit the scope of this specification. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications and changes to each step shown in FIG. 1 based on this specification. These modifications and changes belong to the scope of this specification.
[0091] The first data processing system 800 for implementing the exemplary process 100 according to the present disclosure may be a device with a large amount of computing resources (such as a computer, a server, cloud computing, etc.), or may be a device with limited computing resources (such as a hardware circuit such as an FPGA chip or an ASIC chip).
[0092] The method for processing scintillation pulses according to the present disclosure can limit the energy width of a true single event based on the durations of two thresholds, has high reliability, and can prevent false sampling. And by also using multi-threshold sampling, the time information, position information, and energy information of the incidence of high-energy particles can be accurately restored.
[0093] FIG. 6 is an exemplary flowchart of a method for processing scintillation pulses according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the method 600 for processing scintillation pulses is executed by a second data processing system 900. For example, the method 600 for processing scintillation pulses is stored in a storage device (e.g., a built-in storage unit or an external storage device of the second data processing system 900) in the form of a program or command, and when the program or command is executed, the method 600 for processing scintillation pulses is realized. As shown in FIG. 6, the method 600 for processing scintillation pulses includes the following steps.
[0094] Step 610: Preset two trigger thresholds, perform multi-threshold sampling on each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds, and obtain first sampling data.
[0095] Step 620: Superimpose the at least two scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse.
[0096] Step 630: Preset a plurality of sampling thresholds, perform multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the plurality of sampling thresholds, and obtain second sampling data.
[0097] Step 640: Determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data.
[0098] Step 650: Based on the first sampling data and the second sampling data, determine the target event information of the true single event.
[0099] Process 600 is different from process 100 in the following aspects. Regarding the acquisition of the target scintillation pulse, it is not necessary to directly superimpose the at least two scintillation pulses and select and remove the noise signal. In the process of acquiring the target scintillation pulse, through amplification and addition, the proportion of the noise signal in the target scintillation pulse can be reduced, and the interference effect of the noise signal can be mitigated. Therefore, the signal-to-noise ratio of the target scintillation pulse can be increased, and the interference resistance can be improved.
[0100] FIG. 7 is an exemplary schematic diagram of a scintillation pulse processing circuit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to FIGS. 7, 4, and 5, taking the output of a scintillation pulse by one crystal channel (for example, Simp1) as an example, the signal transmission of process 600 will be described. The scintillation pulse output by Simp1 is output to two comparators installed in parallel for comparison with two trigger thresholds, and sampling is performed to obtain the first sampling data. Then, the scintillation pulse output by Simp1 is simultaneously input into the first amplification circuit to obtain an amplified scintillation pulse through amplification. Further, addition is performed with the amplified scintillation pulses amplified by the respective first amplification circuits output by other crystal channels, and the result is input into the second amplification circuit for amplification to obtain the target scintillation pulse.
[0101] In process 600, the selection of valid scintillation pulses is not required, which does not affect the final result, can further save computing resources, shorten the computing time, and improve the computing efficiency.
[0102] The second data processing system 900 for implementing the exemplary process 600 according to the present disclosure may be a device having a large amount of computing resources (e.g., a computer, a server, cloud computing, etc.), or may be a device having limited computing resources (e.g., a hardware circuit such as an FPGA chip or an ASIC chip). The second data processing system 900 may be the same system as the first data processing system 800. When implementing the process 600, the module for determining the effective scintillation pulse in the first data processing system 800 may not operate.
[0103] The above description regarding each step shown in FIG. 6 is merely for illustrative purposes and does not limit the scope of this specification. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications and changes to each step shown in FIG. 6 based on this specification. These modifications and changes belong within the scope of this specification.
[0104] FIG. 8 is an exemplary block diagram of a data processing system according to some embodiments of this specification. The data processing system can achieve accurate sampling of the scintillation pulse. As shown in FIG. 8, the first data processing system 800 includes a first sampling module 810, a first determination module 820, a first addition module 830, a second sampling module 840, a second determination module 850, and a first information acquisition module 860.
[0105] The first sampling module 810 is configured to preset two trigger thresholds in step 110 above, perform multi-threshold sampling on each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds, and obtain first sampling data. The at least two scintillation pulses are generated by at least two crystal channels in the radiation detection device. The two trigger thresholds are for determining the point in time when the amplitude of the scintillation pulse exceeds the trigger threshold compared with the amplitude of the scintillation pulse. By setting two trigger thresholds for comparison with the scintillation pulse, false detection of noise signals can be effectively prevented. The first sampling module 810 is configured to use two comparators installed in parallel to compare the scintillation pulse with the two trigger thresholds. When the scintillation pulse exceeds the trigger threshold, the comparator outputs a state transition signal. The first sampling module 810 is configured to perform time-data sampling on the state transition signal using two time-to-digital converters to determine the transition time. In this way, the threshold-time pair formed by the trigger threshold and the corresponding transition time becomes the first sampling data.
[0106] The first determination module 820 is configured to determine one or more valid scintillation pulses from the at least two scintillation pulses based on the first sampling data in step 120 above. For any scintillation pulse, the first determination module 820 determines whether the scintillation pulse is a valid scintillation pulse by determining whether the first sampling data includes a relatively large trigger threshold. When it is determined by the first determination module 820 that the first sampling data includes relevant sampling point data (for example, threshold-time pair) where the scintillation pulse exceeds a relatively large trigger threshold, it is determined that the scintillation pulse is a valid scintillation pulse.
[0107] The first addition module 830 is configured to superimpose the one or more effective scintillation pulses in step 130 above to obtain a target scintillation pulse. The first addition module 830 amplifies each of the one or more effective scintillation pulses by one or more first amplification circuits installed in parallel to obtain one or more first amplified scintillation pulses. A second amplification circuit installed in series with the one or more first amplification circuits installed in parallel amplifies the intermediate scintillation pulse obtained by the sum of the one or more first amplified scintillation pulses input thereto to obtain a second amplified scintillation pulse. By performing amplification and addition on the pulse, the ratio of the noise signal not removed in the above step to the target scintillation pulse can be reduced, the signal-to-noise ratio of the pulse signal can be increased, and the interference resistance can be improved.
[0108] The second sampling module 840 is configured to preset a plurality of sampling thresholds in step 140 above, perform multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the plurality of sampling thresholds, and obtain second sampling data. The plurality of sampling thresholds are determined based on empirical data and / or prior information of the scintillation pulse. The maximum sampling threshold among the plurality of sampling thresholds is close to the maximum amplitude of the scintillation pulse corresponding to a true single event. The intervals between the plurality of sampling thresholds are equal. That is, the plurality of sampling thresholds form an arithmetic progression. The intervals between the plurality of sampling thresholds may not be equal. For example, the threshold interval increases as the number of sampling thresholds increases. The second sampling module 840 can sample the one or more effective scintillation pulses in the same or similar manner as the first sampling module 810.
[0109] The second determination module 850 is configured to determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data in the above step 150. The second determination module 850 determines whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event by determining whether the second sampling data indicates that the target scintillation pulse has exceeded the maximum sampling threshold. If the second sampling data includes a threshold-time pair corresponding to when the target scintillation pulse exceeds the maximum sampling threshold, the second determination module 850 can determine that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event. The second determination module 850 is further configured to perform curve fitting on the target scintillation pulse based on the second sampling data to obtain a fitting pulse waveform of the target scintillation pulse. The second determination module 850 is configured to perform integration on the fitting pulse waveform to obtain an energy value for the target scintillation pulse. The second determination module 850 determines whether the target pulse corresponds to a true single event by determining whether the energy value meets a predetermined condition.
[0110] The first information acquisition module 860 is configured to determine the event information of the true single event based on the first sampling data and the second sampling data in step 160 above. The event information includes energy information. The energy information represents the energy value of the scintillation pulse corresponding to the true single event. The first information acquisition module 860 uses the energy value corresponding to the target scintillation pulse after reduction as the energy information. The event information further includes time information. The time information can represent the time when the true single event occurs. The first information acquisition module 860 can determine the time information by comparing the minimum rising time among the first rising times corresponding to the one or more valid scintillation pulses. The first information acquisition module 860 further uses the first rising time corresponding to the maximum relative energy among the relative energies as the time information. The event information further includes position information. The position information represents the position where the true single event occurs. The first information acquisition module 860 uses the position mark of the crystal channel corresponding to the valid scintillation pulse corresponding to the time information as the position information.
[0111] FIG. 9 is an exemplary block diagram of another data processing system according to some embodiments of the present specification. The data processing system can achieve accurate sampling of scintillation pulses. As shown in FIG. 9, the second data processing system 900 includes a third sampling module 910, a second addition module 920, a fourth sampling module 930, a third determination module 940, and a second information acquisition module 950.
[0112] The third sampling module 910 is configured to preset two trigger thresholds in step 610 above, perform multi-threshold sampling on each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds, and obtain first sampling data.
[0113] The second addition module 920 is configured to superimpose the at least two scintillation pulses in step 620 above to obtain a target scintillation pulse.
[0114] The fourth sampling module 930 is configured to preset a plurality of sampling thresholds in step 630 above, perform multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the plurality of sampling thresholds, and obtain second sampling data.
[0115] The third determination module 940 is configured to determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data in step 640 above.
[0116] The second information acquisition module 950 is configured to determine target event information of the true single event based on the first sampling data and the second sampling data in step 650 above.
[0117] The second data processing system 900 may be the same system as the first data processing system 800. When implementing the process 600, the first determination module 620 in the first data processing system 800 does not operate, and the second data processing system 900 is implemented by other modules.
[0118] For other descriptions related to the above modules, reference can be made to the flowchart of the present disclosure and its related parts. For example, reference can be made to FIGS. 1 to 7.
[0119] The system and its modules shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 can be implemented in various ways. For example, in some embodiments, the system and its modules are implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware. The hardware part is implemented by dedicated logic, the software part is stored in memory, and is executed by an appropriate command execution system, such as a microprocessor or dedicated design hardware. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the above methods and systems are implemented by computer-executable commands and / or are included in processor control code, for example, by being included in a carrier medium such as a disk, CD or DVD-ROM, a programmable memory such as a read-only memory (firmware), or such code is provided to a data carrier such as an optical or electrical signal carrier. The systems and their modules in this specification may be implemented by a hardware circuit of a very large scale integrated circuit or gate array, a semiconductor such as a logic chip, a transistor, or a programmable hardware device such as a field programmable gate array, a programmable logic device, may also be implemented by software executed by various processors, or may be implemented by a combination of the above hardware circuit and software (for example, firmware).
[0120] The above description of the modules is for convenience of explanation only, and this specification is not limited to the scope of the examples given. Those skilled in the art may arbitrarily combine each module or divide it into subsystems and connect it to other modules as long as they do not deviate from this principle if they understand the principle of the system. For example, each module may share one storage module, or each module may be equipped with its own storage module. All such modifications fall within the protection scope of this specification.
[0121] FIG. 10 is an exemplary block diagram of a processing device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The processing device 1000 includes any elements for implementing a system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, the processing device 1000 may be implemented by hardware, a software program, firmware, or a combination thereof. For example, the processing device 1000 implements the first data processing system 800 and the second data processing system 900. For convenience, only one processing device is depicted in the drawings, but for distributing the processing load of the system, the computing functions described in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented to be distributed by a set of similar platforms.
[0122] In some embodiments, the processing device 1000 includes a processor 1010, a memory 1020, an input / output member 1030, and a communication port 1040. In some embodiments, the processor (e.g., CPU) 1010 executes program commands in the form of one or more processors. In some embodiments, the memory 1020 includes different forms of program memory and data memory, and examples include a disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), etc., for storing various data files processed and / or transmitted by a computer. In some embodiments, the input / output member 1030 is configured to support input / output between the supporting processing device 1000 and other members. In some embodiments, the communication port 1040 is configured to be connected to a network to realize data communication. Exemplarily, the processing device includes program commands executed by the processor 1010, stored in a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), and / or other types of non-transitory storage media. The methods and / or processes according to the embodiments herein are implemented in the form of program commands. The processing device 1000 may receive the programs and data disclosed in the present disclosure through network communication.
[0123] For ease of understanding, only one processor is exemplarily shown in FIG. 10, but the processing device 1000 according to the embodiments of this specification may include a plurality of processors. Therefore, the operations and / or methods realized by one processor described in the embodiments of this specification may be realized by the cooperation of a plurality of processors, or may be independently realized by a plurality of processors respectively. For example, in this specification, when it is described that the processor of the processing device 1000 executes step 1 and step 2, step 1 and step 2 may be executed by the cooperation of two different processors of the processing device 1000, or may be independently executed by two different processors of the processing device 1000 (for example, step 1 is executed by the first processor, step 2 is executed by the second processor, or step 1 and step 2 are executed by the cooperation of the first processor and the second processor).
[0124] The method for processing scintillation pulses according to the present disclosure can be particularly used for photon detection and can be applied to many fields such as medical imaging technology, high-energy physics, lidar, autonomous driving, precision analysis, optical communication, etc. In a specific example, the method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for processing scintillation pulses according to the present disclosure are used in positron emission tomography (PET). In the PET system, photon data can be acquired and image reconstruction can be performed using the solution according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. In another specific example of the present disclosure, the method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for processing scintillation pulses according to the present disclosure can be used in many digital devices, for example, CT devices, MRI devices, radiation detection devices, oil detection devices, weak light detection devices, SPECT devices, security check devices, gamma cameras, X-ray devices, DR devices, etc., including one or a combination of multiple types of devices that utilize the high-energy radiation conversion principle and other devices that utilize photoelectric conversion.
[0125] In this application, the basic concepts have been described. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the above detailed description is merely exemplary and does not limit this specification. Although not explicitly described herein, those skilled in the art can make various changes, improvements, and modifications to this specification. Since these changes, improvements, and modifications are suggested in this specification, they belong to the spirit and scope of the embodiments of this specification.
[0126] And in this specification, the embodiments of this specification are described in specific terms. For example, "one embodiment", "an embodiment", and / or "some embodiments" mean certain features, structures, or characteristics related to at least one embodiment of this specification. Therefore, when "an embodiment" or "one embodiment" or "an alternative embodiment" is mentioned more than once in different parts of this specification, it does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Also, certain features, structures, or characteristics in one or more embodiments of this specification can be combined as appropriate.
[0127] As will be understood by those skilled in the art, each aspect of this specification is described by certain types or situations having patentability, including any combination of a novel and useful process, apparatus, product, or substance, or a novel and useful improvement thereto. Accordingly, each aspect of this specification may be fully implemented by hardware, may be fully implemented by software (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.), or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software. Any of the above hardware or software may also be referred to as a "data block", "module", "engine", "unit", "assembly", or "system". Also, each aspect of this specification may be represented as a computer product located on one or more computer-readable media, and the product includes computer-readable program code.
[0128] A computer storage medium may include a propagated data signal that is propagated on a baseband or propagated as part of a carrier wave for carrying computer program code. The propagated signal may include various forms such as electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or appropriate combined forms. The computer storage medium may be any computer-readable medium other than a computer-readable storage medium, and this medium can realize the communication, propagation, or transmission of the programs used by being connected to a command execution system, device, or equipment. The program code in the computer storage medium can be propagated via any suitable medium including wireless, cable, fiber optic cable, RF, or similar media, or any combination of the above media.
[0129] The computer program code required for the operation of each part of this specification may be coded in any one or more programming languages including object-oriented programming languages such as Java, Scala, Smalltalk, Eiffel, JADE, Emerald, C++, C#, VB.NET, Python, conventional procedural programming languages such as C language, Visual Basic, Fortran 3003, Perl, COBOL 3002, PHP, ABAP, dynamic programming languages such as Python, Ruby, and Groovy, or other programming languages. The program code may be executed entirely on the user computer, may be executed on the user computer as an independent software package, may be executed partially on the user computer and partially on a remote computer, or may be executed entirely on a remote computer or server. In the latter case, the remote computer may be connected to the user computer in any network form such as a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), may be connected to an external computer (for example, via the Internet), may be in a cloud computing environment, or may be used as a service such as software as a service (SaaS).
[0130] Also, unless explicitly recited in the claims, the recited order of process elements or sequences, the use of alphanumerics, or the use of other names in this specification does not limit the order of the processes and methods of this application. In the above disclosure, various useful examples of the invention, which are currently considered to be such, have been described using various examples. However, these details are for illustrative purposes only, and the claims are not limited to the disclosed examples. The claims cover all modifications and equivalent combinations that are within the spirit and scope of the examples of this application. For example, the above system assembly may be implemented by hardware devices, but may also be implemented by a solution using only software, for example, by installing the described system on a conventional server or mobile device.
[0131] Similarly, to simplify the description of this specification and facilitate the understanding of one or more embodiments of the invention, in the description of the embodiments of this specification, various features may be grouped together in one embodiment, drawing, or its description. However, such a disclosure method does not mean that the features necessary for the subject matter of this specification are greater than the features recited in the claims. In fact, the features of an embodiment may be fewer than all the features of the single embodiment disclosed above.
[0132] In some embodiments, numbers are used to describe the number of components and attributes. Such numbers for describing the embodiments are those indicated by "about", "substantially" or "roughly" in some examples. Unless otherwise specified, "about", "substantially" or "roughly" indicates that a variation of ±20% of the above numbers is allowed. Thus, in some embodiments, the numerical parameters used in the specification and claims are all approximate values that can vary according to the characteristics required for individual embodiments. In some embodiments, for numerical parameters, the defined number of significant digits should be considered and the normal rounding method should be applied. In some embodiments of this specification, the numerical ranges and parameters for determining the ranges are approximate values, but in specific embodiments, such numbers are set as accurately as possible.
[0133] All patents, patent applications, published patent publications, and other materials, articles, books, specifications, publications, documents, and other data incorporated herein by reference are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, except for application history documents that are inconsistent with or conflict with the content of this specification, and documents that affect the broadest scope of the claims of this application (which can be incorporated into this specification now or later). If the descriptions, definitions, and / or uses of terms in the attached materials of this specification are inconsistent with or conflict with the content described in this specification, they shall conform to the descriptions, definitions, and / or uses of terms in this specification.
[0134] The embodiments in this specification are for explaining the principles of the embodiments of this specification. Other variations may also be within the scope of this application. Therefore, without limitation and by way of example, alternative examples of the embodiments of this specification may be considered to be consistent with the teachings of this specification. Thus, the embodiments of this application are not limited to the embodiments described in this specification.
[0135] Industrial Applicability
[0136] The present disclosure discloses a method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for processing scintillation pulses. The method includes presetting two trigger thresholds, performing multi-threshold sampling on each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds to obtain first sampling data, determining one or more valid scintillation pulses from the at least two scintillation pulses based on the first sampling data, superimposing the valid scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse, presetting a plurality of sampling thresholds, performing multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the plurality of sampling thresholds to obtain second sampling data, determining whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data, and determining event information of the true single event based on the first sampling data and the second sampling data when the target scintillation pulse corresponds to the true single event. The present disclosure can limit the time information and energy width of the true single event by the duration of the two thresholds, with high reliability and the prevention of false sampling.
[0137] Furthermore, the method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for processing scintillation pulses according to the present disclosure are feasible and can be applied to various industrial applications. For example, the method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for processing scintillation pulses according to the present disclosure can be applied to the field of data processing.
Claims
1. A method for processing scintillation pulses, comprising: The processing method includes: Pre-setting two trigger thresholds, and performing multi-threshold sampling on each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds to obtain first sampling data; Determining one or more valid scintillation pulses from the at least two scintillation pulses based on the first sampling data; Superimposing the one or more valid scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse; Pre-setting a plurality of sampling thresholds, and performing multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the plurality of sampling thresholds to obtain second sampling data; Determining whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data; When the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, determining event information of the true single event based on the first sampling data and the second sampling data. A method for processing scintillation pulses, characterized by the above.
2. The step of determining one or more valid scintillation pulses from the at least two scintillation pulses based on the first sampling data includes: For any scintillation pulse, determining whether the first sampling data includes the relatively larger trigger threshold of the two trigger thresholds; When the first sampling data includes the relatively larger trigger threshold of the two trigger thresholds, determining that the scintillation pulse is the valid scintillation pulse. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to Claim 1, characterized by the above.
3. The step of superimposing the one or more valid scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse includes: Amplifying each of the valid scintillation pulses by one or more first amplification circuits arranged in parallel to obtain one or more amplified scintillation pulses; The step of amplifying an intermediate scintillation pulse obtained by the sum of one or more amplified scintillation pulses input, by a second amplification circuit installed in series with one or more first amplification circuits installed in parallel, to obtain the target scintillation pulse, is included The method for processing a scintillation pulse according to claim 1, characterized in that
4. The plurality of sampling thresholds are determined based on empirical data and / or prior information of the scintillation pulse, and the maximum sampling threshold among the plurality of sampling thresholds is close to the maximum amplitude of the scintillation pulse corresponding to a true single event The method for processing a scintillation pulse according to claim 1, characterized in that
5. The step of determining whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data is The step of determining whether the maximum sampling threshold is included in the second sampling data When the maximum sampling threshold is included in the second sampling data, the step of determining that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, is included The method for processing a scintillation pulse according to claim 4, characterized in that
6. The step of determining whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data is The step of performing pulse fitting on the target scintillation pulse based on the second sampling data to determine a fitting pulse waveform The step of determining an energy value corresponding to the target scintillation pulse based on the fitting pulse waveform The step of determining whether the energy value satisfies a predetermined condition When the energy value satisfies a predetermined condition, the step of determining that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, is included The method for processing a scintillation pulse according to claim 1, characterized in that
7. The target time information includes energy information, and determining the energy information includes When the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, determining the energy information based on the energy value 7. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to claim 6.
8. For any valid scintillation pulse, the first sampled data includes a first rise time at which the valid scintillation pulse first crosses a relatively small trigger threshold, a first fall time at which the valid scintillation pulse second crosses the relatively small trigger threshold, a second rise time at which the valid scintillation pulse first crosses a relatively large trigger threshold, and a second fall time at which the valid scintillation pulse second crosses the relatively large trigger threshold.
2. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to claim 1.
9. The event information includes time information, and determining the time information includes: determining a minimum rise time among the first rise times corresponding to the one or more valid scintillation pulses; and setting the minimum rise time as the time information.
9. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to claim 8.
10. The event information includes time information, and determining the time information includes: determining the relative energy corresponding to each valid scintillation pulse; and determining, as the time information, a first rise time corresponding to a maximum relative energy among the relative energies, The relative energy is the difference between the second fall time and the first rise time.
9. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to claim 8.
11. The at least two scintillation pulses are generated by a crystal channel of a radiation detection device, and the event information includes position information, and determining the position information includes: determining a position mark of a crystal channel corresponding to a valid scintillation pulse corresponding to said time information; and setting the position mark as the position information.
11. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to claim 9 or 10.
12. 1. A method for processing scintillation pulses, comprising: The processing method comprises: a step of presetting two trigger thresholds, and performing multi-threshold sampling on each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds to obtain first sampling data; Step of obtaining a target scintillation pulse by superimposing the at least two scintillation pulses Step of presetting a plurality of sampling thresholds, performing multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the plurality of sampling thresholds, and obtaining second sampling data Step of determining whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data Step of determining event information of the true single event based on the first sampling data and the second sampling data when the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, including A method for processing a scintillation pulse, characterized by the above
13. The step of obtaining a target scintillation pulse by superimposing the at least two scintillation pulses is Step of respectively amplifying the at least two scintillation pulses by at least two first amplification circuits installed in parallel to obtain at least two amplified scintillation pulses Step of obtaining the target scintillation pulse by amplifying an intermediate scintillation pulse obtained by the sum of the at least two amplified scintillation pulses input by a second amplification circuit installed in series with the at least two first amplification circuits installed in parallel, including A method for processing a scintillation pulse according to claim 12, characterized by the above
14. The plurality of sampling thresholds are determined based on empirical data and / or prior information of the scintillation pulse, and the maximum sampling threshold among the plurality of sampling thresholds is close to the maximum amplitude of the scintillation pulse corresponding to a true single event A method for processing a scintillation pulse according to claim 12, characterized by the above
15. The step of determining whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data is Step of determining whether the maximum sampling threshold is included in the second sampling data determining that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event if the second sampling data includes the maximum sampling threshold.
15. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to claim 14.
16. determining whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data; performing pulse fitting on the target scintillation pulse based on the second sampling data to determine a fitted pulse waveform; determining an energy value corresponding to the target scintillation pulse based on the fitted pulse waveform; determining whether the energy value satisfies a predetermined condition; determining that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event if the energy value satisfies a predetermined condition.
13. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to claim 12.
17. The target time information includes energy information, and determining the energy information includes: determining the energy information based on the energy value if the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.
17. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to claim 16.
18. A scintillation pulse whose first sampling data includes a relatively large trigger threshold is a valid scintillation pulse, and for any valid scintillation pulse, the first sampling data includes a first rise time at which the valid scintillation pulse crosses a relatively small trigger threshold for the first time, a first fall time at which the valid scintillation pulse crosses the relatively small trigger threshold for the second time, a second rise time at which the valid scintillation pulse crosses the relatively large trigger threshold for the first time, and a second fall time at which the valid scintillation pulse crosses the relatively large trigger threshold for the second time.
13. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to claim 12.
19. The event information includes time information, and determining the time information includes: determining a minimum rise time among the first rise times corresponding to one or more valid scintillation pulses; a step of using the minimum rise time as the time information The method for processing a scintillation pulse according to claim 18, characterized in that
20. The event information includes time information, and determining the time information includes a step of determining the relative energy corresponding to each valid scintillation pulse, a step of using the first rise time corresponding to the maximum relative energy among the relative energies as the time information, wherein the relative energy is the difference between the second fall time and the first rise time The method for processing a scintillation pulse according to claim 18, characterized in that
21. The at least two scintillation pulses are generated by a crystal channel of a radiation detection device, the event information includes position information, and determining the position information includes a step of determining a position mark of a crystal channel corresponding to a valid scintillation pulse corresponding to the time information, a step of using the position mark as the position information The method for processing a scintillation pulse according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that
22. A scintillation pulse processing device, wherein the processing device is configured to preset two trigger thresholds, perform multi-threshold sampling on each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds, and obtain first sampling data; a first sampling module; a first determination module configured to determine one or more valid scintillation pulses from the at least two scintillation pulses based on the first sampling data; a first addition module configured to superimpose the one or more valid scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse; is configured to preset a plurality of sampling thresholds, perform multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the plurality of sampling thresholds, and obtain second sampling data; a second sampling module; a second determination module configured to determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data When the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, a first information acquisition module configured to determine event information of the true single event based on the first sampling data and / or the second sampling data A scintillation pulse processing apparatus characterized by the above.
23. Based on the first sampling data, the first determination module is configured to determine one or more valid scintillation pulses from the at least two scintillation pulses For any scintillation pulse, it is determined whether the relatively large trigger threshold among the trigger thresholds is included in the first sampling data. If the relatively large trigger threshold among the trigger thresholds is included in the first sampling data, the scintillation pulse is determined to be the valid scintillation pulse The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to claim 22, characterized by the above.
24. The first addition module is configured to superimpose the one or more valid scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse One or more first amplification circuits installed in parallel amplify the valid scintillation pulses respectively to obtain one or more amplified scintillation pulses The second amplification circuit installed in series with the one or more first amplification circuits installed in parallel amplifies the intermediate scintillation pulse obtained from the sum of the one or more amplified scintillation pulses input, so as to obtain the target scintillation pulse The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to claim 22, characterized by the above.
25. The plurality of sampling thresholds are determined based on empirical data and / or prior information of the scintillation pulse. The maximum sampling threshold among the plurality of sampling thresholds is close to the maximum amplitude of the scintillation pulse corresponding to the true single event The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to claim 22, characterized by the above.
26. Based on the second sampling data, the second determination module is configured to determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event Determine whether the maximum sampling threshold is included in the second sampling data, and if the maximum sampling threshold is included in the second sampling data, be configured to determine that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event The scintillation pulse processing device according to claim 25, characterized by the above. **Claim 27** Based on the second sampling data, the second determination module is configured to determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, perform pulse fitting on the target scintillation pulse based on the second sampling data to determine a fitting pulse waveform, determine an energy value corresponding to the target scintillation pulse based on the fitting pulse waveform, determine whether the energy value satisfies a predetermined condition, and if the energy value satisfies the predetermined condition, be configured to determine that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event The scintillation pulse processing device according to claim 22, characterized by the above. **Claim 28** The target time information includes energy information, and the first information acquisition module is configured to determine the energy information, and if the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, be configured to determine the energy information based on the energy value The scintillation pulse processing device according to claim 27, characterized by the above. **Claim 29** For any valid scintillation pulse, the first sampling data includes a first rising time when the valid scintillation pulse first exceeds a relatively small trigger threshold, a first falling time when the relatively small trigger threshold is exceeded for the second time, a second rising time when a relatively large trigger threshold is first exceeded, and a second falling time when the relatively large trigger threshold is exceeded for the second time. The scintillation pulse processing device according to claim 22, characterized by the above. **Claim 30** The event information includes time information, and the first information acquisition module is configured to determine the time information, determine the minimum rising time among the first rising times corresponding to the one or more valid scintillation pulses, configured to use the minimum rise time as the time information The scintillation pulse processing device according to claim 29, characterized in that.
31. The event information includes time information, and in order to determine the time information, the first information acquisition module determines the relative energy corresponding to each valid scintillation pulse, configured to use the first rise time corresponding to the maximum relative energy among the relative energies as the time information, wherein the relative energy is the difference between the second fall time and the first rise time The scintillation pulse processing device according to claim 29, characterized in that.
32. The at least two scintillation pulses are generated by a crystal channel of a radiation detection device, the event information includes position information, and in order to determine the position information, the first information acquisition module determines the position mark of the crystal channel corresponding to the valid scintillation pulse corresponding to the time information, configured to use the position mark as the position information The scintillation pulse processing device according to claim 30 or 31, characterized in that.
33. A scintillation pulse processing device, wherein the processing device is configured to preset two trigger thresholds, perform multi-threshold sampling on each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds, and acquire first sampling data; a third sampling module; a second addition module configured to superimpose the at least two scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse; configured to preset a plurality of sampling thresholds, perform multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the plurality of sampling thresholds, and acquire second sampling data; a fourth sampling module; a third determination module configured to determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data When the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, a second information acquisition module configured to determine event information of the true single event based on the first sampling data and / or the second sampling data A scintillation pulse processing apparatus characterized by the above.
34. The second addition module is configured to superimpose the at least two scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse. At least two first amplification circuits installed in parallel respectively amplify the at least two scintillation pulses to obtain at least two amplified scintillation pulses. A second amplification circuit installed in series with the at least two first amplification circuits installed in parallel amplifies an intermediate scintillation pulse obtained by summing the at least two amplified scintillation pulses input thereto, so as to obtain the target scintillation pulse. The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to claim 33, characterized by the above.
35. The plurality of sampling thresholds are determined based on empirical data and / or prior information of the scintillation pulse, and the maximum sampling threshold among the plurality of sampling thresholds is close to the maximum amplitude of the scintillation pulse corresponding to a true single event. The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to claim 33, characterized by the above.
36. The third determination module is configured to determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data. Determine whether the maximum sampling threshold is included in the second sampling data. When the maximum sampling threshold is included in the second sampling data, it is configured to determine that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event. The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to claim 35, characterized by the above.
37. The third determination module is configured to determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data. performing pulse fitting on the target scintillation pulse based on the second sampling data to determine a fitted pulse waveform; determining an energy value corresponding to the target scintillation pulse based on the fitted pulse waveform; determining whether the energy value satisfies a predetermined condition; configured to determine that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event if the energy value satisfies a predetermined condition.
34. The scintillation pulse processing device according to claim 33.
38. The target time information includes energy information, and the second information acquisition module is configured to determine the energy information: configured to determine the energy information based on the energy value if the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.
38. The scintillation pulse processing device according to claim 37.
39. A scintillation pulse indicated by the first sampling data as having crossed a relatively large trigger threshold is a valid scintillation pulse, and for any valid scintillation pulse, the first sampling data includes a first rise time at which the valid scintillation pulse crosses a relatively small trigger threshold for the first time, a first fall time at which the valid scintillation pulse crosses the relatively small trigger threshold for the second time, a second rise time at which the valid scintillation pulse crosses the relatively large trigger threshold for the first time, and a second fall time at which the valid scintillation pulse crosses the relatively large trigger threshold for the second time.
34. The scintillation pulse processing device according to claim 33.
40. The event information includes time information, and the second information acquisition module is configured to determine the time information. determining a minimum rise time among the first rise times corresponding to one or more valid scintillation pulses; The time information is configured to be the minimum rise time.
40. The scintillation pulse processing device according to claim 39.
41. The event information includes time information, and the second information acquisition module is configured to determine the time information. determining the relative energy corresponding to each effective scintillation pulse; configured to use, as the time information, a first rise time corresponding to the maximum relative energy among the relative energies; wherein the relative energy is a difference between the second fall time and the first rise time The scintillation pulse processing device according to claim 39, characterized in that.
42. The at least two scintillation pulses are generated by a crystal channel of a radiation detection device, the event information includes position information, and the second information acquisition module is configured to determine a position mark of a crystal channel corresponding to a valid scintillation pulse corresponding to the time information; configured to use the position mark as the position information The scintillation pulse processing device according to claim 40 or 41, characterized in that.
43. A scintillation pulse processing device, the processing device includes a scintillation pulse processing circuit board, and the processing circuit board is configured to perform a multi-threshold sampling operation on the scintillation pulse to implement the scintillation pulse processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 21 The scintillation pulse processing device, characterized in that.
44. comprising the scintillation pulse processing device according to any one of claims 22 to 43 The processing device, characterized in that.
45. comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable by the processor, wherein when the computer program is executed by the processor, the steps of the processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 22 are realized The processing device, characterized in that.
46. A computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 22 are realized The computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that.
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