Method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for processing scintillation pulses

Abstract

Provided are a method, an apparatus, a device, and a storage medium for processing scintillation pulses. The method includes: setting two trigger thresholds in advance, 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 110); determining one or more valid scintillation pulses from the at least two scintillation pulses based on the first sampling data (step 120); superimposing the valid scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse (step 130); setting a plurality of sampling thresholds in advance, and performing multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the plurality of sampling thresholds to obtain second sampling data (step 140); determining whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data (step 150); 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 (step 160). The duration of the two thresholds can be used to limit the time information and energy width of the true single event, with high reliability and prevention of false sampling.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This 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] This disclosure claims priority based on a Chinese application filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on December 30, 2022, with application number 202211731578.5 and title "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 radioactive tracers 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 scintillation pulses output from detectors in a PET system is realized by a Multi-Voltage Threshold (MVT) circuit. However, in 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 increase the sensitivity of the system.

[0006] When gamma photons scatter, one or more pulses with relatively low energy are generated. Because the signals collected in the crystal channels are small and interfere with the main signal, if an independent sampling method is employed for each channel, scintillation pulses may not be collected or incorrect scintillation pulses (e.g., interference signals) may be collected when the energy is relatively low. Furthermore, the MVT method has a relatively large error in energy calculation for low-energy pulses, so the energy information of the recovered event becomes inaccurate. [Overview of the project]

[0007] The technical problem that the embodiments of this disclosure aim to solve is how to achieve highly accurate and sensitive sampling of scintillation pulses and prevent erroneous sampling.

[0008] To solve the above problems, this disclosure provides a method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for processing scintillation pulses.

[0009] The first aspect of this disclosure provides a method for processing scintillation pulses. The processing method includes the steps of: setting two trigger thresholds in advance, 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 effective scintillation pulses from the at least two scintillation pulses based on the first sampling data; superimposing the one or more effective scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse; setting a plurality of sampling thresholds in advance, 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, if 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 effective 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 a relatively larger trigger threshold among the two trigger thresholds, and, if the first sampling data includes a relatively larger trigger threshold among the two trigger thresholds, determining that the scintillation pulse is the effective scintillation pulse.

[0011] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the step of superimposing one or more effective scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse includes the steps of amplifying each of the effective scintillation pulses with 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 the sum of the one or more input amplified scintillation pulses with 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 priori 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 the steps of determining whether the second sampling data includes the maximum sampling threshold, and if the second sampling data includes the maximum sampling threshold, 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 the steps of: 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 predetermined conditions; and, if the energy value satisfies predetermined conditions, determining that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.

[0015] In some embodiments of this disclosure, Event Information This 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.

[0016] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, for any effective scintillation pulse, the first sampling data includes a first rise time at which the effective scintillation pulse first exceeds a relatively small trigger threshold, a first fall time at which it second exceeds the relatively small trigger threshold, and a second rise time at which it first exceeds a relatively large trigger threshold, and a second fall time at which it second exceeds the relatively large trigger threshold.

[0017] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the event information includes time information, and determining the time information includes the steps of determining the minimum rise time among the first rise times corresponding to the one or more effective scintillation pulses, and the step of setting the minimum rise time as the time information.

[0018] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the event information includes time information, and determining the time information includes the steps of determining the relative energy corresponding to each effective scintillation pulse, and the first rise time corresponding to the largest relative energy among the relative energies being the time information, wherein the relative energy is the difference between the second fall time and the first rise time.

[0019] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the at least two scintillation pulses are generated by a crystal channel of a radiation detector, the event information includes location information, and determining the location information includes the steps of determining a location mark of the crystal channel corresponding to an effective scintillation pulse corresponding to the time information, and setting the location mark as the location information.

[0020] A second aspect of this disclosure provides a method for processing scintillation pulses. The processing method includes the steps of: setting two trigger thresholds in advance, 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; setting a plurality of sampling thresholds in advance, performing multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the plurality of sampling thresholds to obtain second sampling data; determining, based on the second sampling data, whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event; and, if 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 the steps of amplifying the at least two scintillation pulses by at least two first amplifier circuits installed in parallel to obtain at least two amplified scintillation pulses, and amplifying an intermediate scintillation pulse obtained by the sum of the at least two amplified scintillation pulses by a second amplifier circuit installed in series with the at least two first amplifier circuits installed 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 priori 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 the steps of determining whether the second sampling data includes the maximum sampling threshold, and if the second sampling data includes the maximum sampling threshold, 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 Event 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 this disclosure provides a scintillation pulse processing device. The device comprises a first sampling module, a first determination module, a first adder module, a second sampling module, a second determination module, and a first information acquisition module, wherein 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 acquire first sampling data, the first determination module is configured to determine one or more effective scintillation pulses from the at least two scintillation pulses based on the first sampling data, and the first adder module superimposes the one or more effective scintillation pulses to a target scintillation pulse. The second sampling module is configured to acquire a scintillation pulse, and 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 acquire second sampling data, the second determination module is configured to determine, based on the second sampling data, whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, and the first information acquisition module is configured to determine, based on the first sampling data and / or the second sampling data, the event information of the true single event if the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.

[0031] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first determination module is configured to determine, based on first sampling data, whether the first sampling data contains a relatively large trigger threshold among the trigger thresholds for any given scintillation pulse, and if the first sampling data contains a relatively large trigger threshold among the trigger thresholds, then determine that the scintillation pulse is the effective scintillation pulse.

[0032] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first summing module is configured to obtain a target scintillation pulse by superimposing one or more effective scintillation pulses, by amplifying each of the effective scintillation pulses with one or more first amplification circuits installed in parallel to obtain one or more amplified scintillation pulses, and by amplifying an intermediate scintillation pulse obtained by the sum of the input one or more amplified scintillation pulses with 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 priori 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, the second determining module is configured to determine whether the second sampling data includes the maximum sampling threshold, and if the second sampling data includes the maximum sampling threshold, to determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, based on the second sampling data.

[0035] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the second determination module is configured to determine, based on the second sampling data, whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event. This determination is made by pulse fitting 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, and determining, if the energy value satisfies the predetermined condition, that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.

[0036] In some embodiments of this disclosure, Event 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, so as to include energy information and to determine the energy information.

[0037] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, for any effective scintillation pulse, the first sampling data includes a first rise time at which the effective scintillation pulse first exceeds a relatively small trigger threshold, a first fall time at which it second exceeds the relatively small trigger threshold, and a second rise time at which it first exceeds a relatively large trigger threshold, and a second fall time at which it second exceeds the relatively large trigger threshold.

[0038] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the event information includes time information, and the first information acquisition module is configured to determine the minimum rise time among the first rise times corresponding to the one or more effective scintillation pulses, so as to determine the time information, and the minimum rise time is the time information.

[0039] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the event information includes time information, and the first information acquisition module is configured to determine the relative energy corresponding to each effective scintillation pulse, and to determine the time information, the first rise time corresponding to the largest relative energy among the relative energies is the time information, where the relative energy is the difference between the second fall time and the first rise time.

[0040] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the at least two scintillation pulses are generated by a crystal channel of a radiation detector, the event information includes location information, and the first information acquisition module is configured to determine a location mark of the crystal channel corresponding to the effective scintillation pulse corresponding to the time information, so as to determine the location information, and the location mark is set to the location information.

[0041] A fourth aspect of the present disclosure provides a scintillation pulse processing device. The device comprises a third sampling module, a second adding module, a fourth sampling module, a third determination module, and a second information acquisition module, wherein 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 acquire first sampling data; the second adding module is configured to superimpose the at least two scintillation pulses to acquire 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 acquire second sampling data; the third determination module is configured to determine, based on the second sampling data, whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event; and the second information acquisition module is configured to determine, based on the first sampling data and / or the second sampling data, event information for the true single event if the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.

[0042] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the second summing module is configured to obtain a target scintillation pulse by superimposing the at least two scintillation pulses, by amplifying each of the at least two scintillation pulses with at least two first amplification circuits installed in parallel to obtain at least two amplified scintillation pulses, and by amplifying an intermediate scintillation pulse obtained by the sum of the at least two amplified scintillation pulses with 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 priori 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.

[0044] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the third determining module is configured to determine whether the second sampling data includes the maximum sampling threshold, and if the second sampling data includes the maximum sampling threshold, to determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, based on the second sampling data.

[0045] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the third determining module is configured to determine, based on the second sampling data, whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, by 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 determining, if the energy value satisfies the predetermined condition, that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.

[0046] In some embodiments of this disclosure, Event 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, so as to include energy information and to determine the energy information.

[0047] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a scintillation pulse is an effective scintillation pulse in which the first sampling data indicates that the relatively larger of the two trigger thresholds has been exceeded, and for any effective scintillation pulse, the first sampling data includes a first rise time in which the effective scintillation pulse first exceeds the relatively smaller trigger threshold, a first fall time in which the relatively smaller trigger threshold is exceeded for the second time, and a second rise time in which the relatively larger trigger threshold is exceeded for the first time, and a second fall time in which the relatively larger trigger threshold is exceeded for the second time.

[0048] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the event information includes time information, and the second information acquisition module is configured to determine the minimum rise time among first rise times corresponding to one or more active scintillation pulses, so as to determine the time information, and the minimum rise time is the time information.

[0049] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the event information includes time information, and the second information acquisition module is configured to determine the relative energy corresponding to each effective scintillation pulse, and to determine the time information, the first rise time corresponding to the largest relative energy among the relative energies is 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 the crystal channel of a radiation detector, the event information includes location information, and the second information acquisition module is configured to determine the location mark of the crystal channel corresponding to the effective scintillation pulse corresponding to the time information, so as to determine the location information.

[0051] A fifth aspect of this disclosure provides a scintillation pulse processing apparatus. The apparatus comprises a scintillation pulse processing circuit board, the processing circuit board is configured to perform a multi-threshold sampling operation on the scintillation pulse to realize the scintillation pulse processing method described above.

[0052] A sixth aspect of this disclosure provides a processing device, which comprises a scintillation pulse processing device.

[0053] A seventh aspect of this disclosure provides a processing device. The processing device comprises 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 above method are realized.

[0054] The eighth aspect of this disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium. The steps of the above method are realized when a computer program is stored in the storage medium and the computer program is executed by a processor.

[0055] The scintillation pulse processing method, apparatus, device, and storage medium described herein can limit the time information and energy width of a true single event by the duration of two thresholds, providing high reliability and preventing missampling. Furthermore, by utilizing multi-threshold sampling, the time, position, and energy information of incident high-energy particles can be accurately recovered. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0056] This disclosure is further illustrated by exemplary embodiments. These exemplary embodiments are described in detail with reference to the drawings. These embodiments are not limiting. In these embodiments, similar reference numerals represent similar structures. [Figure 1]This is an illustrative flowchart of a scintillation pulse processing method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This is an illustrative schematic diagram of a crystal channel of a radiation detector according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] This is an illustrative schematic diagram of scintillation pulse sampling according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] This is an illustrative schematic diagram of a scintillation pulse sampling circuit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] This is an illustrative schematic diagram of a scintillation pulse superposition circuit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] This is an illustrative flowchart of other methods for processing scintillation pulses according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] This is an illustrative schematic diagram of a scintillation pulse processing circuit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] This is an exemplary block diagram of a data processing system used for scintillation pulse processing according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] This is an illustrative block diagram of another data processing system used in scintillation pulse processing according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] This is an exemplary functional block diagram of a data processing system used in scintillation pulse processing according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0057] To further clarify the above-mentioned objectives, features, and advantages of this disclosure, specific embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Many specific details will be explained below in order to fully understand this disclosure. However, this disclosure can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and similar improvements can be made by those skilled in the art as long as they do not deviate from the spirit of this disclosure, so this disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0058] When an element is "fixed" to another element, that element may be fixed directly to the other element or via an intermediate element. When one element is connected to another element, that element may be connected directly to the other element or 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 that a person skilled in the art would ordinarily understand. Terms used in the specification of this disclosure are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the disclosure. The terms “and / or” used in this application include any and all combinations of the listed related terms.

[0060] Some preferred embodiments of this disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The following are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0061] Figure 1 is an illustrative flowchart of a scintillation pulse processing method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the scintillation pulse processing method 100 is performed by a first data processing system 800. For example, the scintillation pulse processing method 100 is stored in a storage device (e.g., an internal storage unit of the first data processing system 800 or an external storage device) in the form of a program or command, and the scintillation pulse processing method 100 is realized when the program or command is executed. As shown in Figure 1, the scintillation pulse processing method 100 includes the following steps.

[0062] Step 110: Two trigger thresholds are set in advance, and multi-threshold sampling is performed for each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds to obtain the first sample data.

[0063] In some embodiments, the at least two scintillation pulses are acquired by a radiation detection device, such as a scintillation detector. The scintillation detector includes a scintillator crystal and a photoelectric conversion device coupled together. 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, neutrons, 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, which 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 in a radiation detector according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The crystal of the radiation detector (e.g., a scintillation detector) has multiple crystal channels that are independent of each other. For example, the crystal is regularly cut or divided, and each part is independently coupled to a photoelectric conversion device (e.g., a silicon photomultiplier tube SiPM) to form a crystal channel. As shown in Figure 2, the scintillation detector has 6 × 6 = 36 independent crystal channels. When a high-energy particle (e.g., a gamma photon) enters a crystal channel (e.g., the 10th crystal channel shown in Figure 5), energy is stored in the crystal channel. The photoelectric conversion device coupled to the crystal channel generates a scintillation pulse signal. This is called a single event. However, the above process does not take photon scattering into account. In fact, after a gamma photon enters a crystal channel (i.e., after it is incident on the crystal), Compton scattering may occur. A gamma photon undergoes energy changes, its direction shifts, and energy accumulates in multiple crystal channels, resulting in the output of multiple scintillation pulses. In other words, after a single gamma photon is captured by a scintillation detector, a single event can occur in multiple channels. As shown in Figure 5, after a gamma photon enters the 10th crystal channel, Compton scattering occurs. After direction shifts, energy accumulates in the 15th, 24th, and 28th crystal channels. Therefore, one gamma photon generates four single events. These single events include target single events and scattering single events. A target single event refers to the event where energy accumulation occurs first in a particular crystal channel, generating a scintillation pulse, while a scattering single event refers to the event where scintillation pulses occur in other crystal channels due to photon scattering. In the scintillation pulse sampling process, the desired event is a true single event, that is, the event where a target high-energy particle (e.g., a gamma photon) enters a crystal channel, energy accumulation occurs, and a scintillation pulse is generated.Noise signals caused by other factors (e.g., changes in equipment status) need to be removed. Multiple scintillation pulses caused by scattering need to be recovered. For example, scintillation pulses corresponding to the target single event and the scattered single events are superimposed and recovered to make subsequent calculations more accurate.

[0065] In some embodiments, the two trigger thresholds are used to determine the point at which the amplitude of a scintillation pulse exceeds a trigger threshold, compared to the amplitude of the scintillation pulse. By setting two trigger thresholds to compare 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 of the scintillation pulse. For example, the scintillation pulse may be an electrical scintillation pulse, an acoustic scintillation pulse, a thermal scintillation pulse, or a pressure wave signal. Energy indicators for representing the scintillation pulse may be voltage, current, acoustic intensity, heat quantity, or pressure. The thresholds may be a voltage threshold, a current threshold, an acoustic intensity threshold, a heat quantity threshold, a pressure threshold, etc.

[0066] In some embodiments, the two thresholds are determined based on empirical data and / or prior information on the scintillation pulse. For example, using electrical pulses as an example, analysis of statistical data on a large number of electrical pulses generated by high-energy particles from a radiation source reveals that the amplitude of the scintillation pulse is sometimes relatively small. When sampling directly, the threshold to be set becomes very small, which is unfavorable for sampling. Therefore, some transformation is performed on the scintillation pulse (a transformation of the signal that changes its shape without changing the substantial content of the signal, here only the height is transformed) to increase the amplitude of the scintillation pulse. Exemplarily, a predetermined height is set to 625mV. Also, referring to prior data, it is determined that the maximum amplitude of the noise signal is generally around 50mV. Therefore, the two trigger thresholds can be set to 625mV and 675mV. That is, a relatively large trigger threshold is obtained by adding 50mV to 625mV. Setting it in this way allows for better filtering of the noise signal during 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 constitutes 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 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. This can be easily realized by those skilled in the art based on the suggestions of the present disclosure, so the description is omitted here.

[0069] Figure 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 Figure 4 can obtain the first sampling data by sampling the at least two scintillation pulses using two trigger thresholds. As shown in Figure 4, CH1 is the crystal channel number, here representing the first crystal channel as an example. Simp1 represents a photoelectric conversion device (e.g., a silicon photomultiplier tube) coupled to the first crystal channel. The scintillation pulse output from Simp1 is input to two comparators arranged in parallel. For example, in some embodiments, the comparators can be realized by LVDS (Low-Voltage Differential Signaling) pins of an FPGA chip on a circuit board (in this case, the circuit board can be called an MVT sampling board). Each LVDS comparator receives the 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. Each comparator is connected to two time-to-digital converters (TDCs) to determine the sampling time for the rising edge and falling edge of the scintillation pulse, respectively. For example, when the scintillation pulse exceeds a trigger threshold, the comparator outputs a state transition signal. The TDCs can determine the time by performing time-to-digital sampling on this state transition signal. For example, two TDCs connected to one comparator are configured to determine the time t0 when the rising edge of the scintillation pulse exceeds the trigger threshold V1 from bottom to top, and the time t3 when the falling edge exceeds 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 exceeds the trigger threshold V2 from bottom to top and the time t2 when the falling edge of the scintillation pulse exceeds the trigger threshold V2 from top to bottom. Of course, when the scintillation pulse does not exceed 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 scintillation pulse.

[0072] Step 130: Superimpose the one or more valid scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse.

[0073] As explained above, when high-energy particles (e.g., gamma photons) enter a crystal channel, scattering occurs and their energy is dispersed. To accurately calculate the energy, these effective scintillation pulses are superimposed, and the energy width of the resulting target scintillation pulse can be the sum of the energies of the amplitudes of these effective scintillation pulses. The results of processing the target scintillation pulse become more accurate.

[0074] In some embodiments, one or more first amplification circuits, installed in parallel, amplify each of the one or more effective scintillation pulses 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 an intermediate scintillation pulse obtained by the sum of the one or more input first amplified scintillation pulses to obtain a second amplified scintillation pulse. Furthermore, the target scintillation pulse can be determined based on the second amplified scintillation pulse. This will be illustrated with reference to Figure 5. Figure 5 is an illustrative schematic diagram of a superposition circuit for scintillation pulse superposition according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5, CH1 to CH36 represent the crystal channel numbers, 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 a crystal channel. The scintillation pulses output by the photoelectric conversion device of each channel (if present and confirmed to be effective scintillation pulses) are input to their respective first amplifier circuits (shown in dashed box A in Figure 5). Resistors R1 and R installed in the circuit f Therefore, the amplification value k1 of the first amplifier circuit can be determined, and k1 = 1 + (R f / R1). Here, amplification of the effective scintillation pulse can be energy amplification, that is, an increase in the maximum amplitude. Each effective scintillation pulse processed by the first amplifier circuit is added together to obtain an intermediate scintillation pulse. The maximum amplitude is replaced with energy, and the maximum amplitude of the first amplified scintillation pulse output by the first amplifier circuit is E n If (1≦n≦36), the maximum amplitude Em of the intermediate scintillation pulse obtained by addition is The image is JPEG0007881138000001.jpg882. The second amplifier circuit (shown in dashed box B in Figure 5), which is connected in series with multiple first amplifier circuits connected in parallel, receives the intermediate scintillation pulse and performs a second amplification. Resistors R1 and R installed in the circuit f Therefore, the amplification value k2 of the second amplifier circuit can be determined, and k2 = (R f The maximum amplitude of the scintillation pulse output by the second amplification circuit (i.e., the target scintillation pulse) is: The image is JPEG0007881138000002.jpg682. By amplifying and adding the pulses, the proportion of the noise signal that was not removed in the above steps to the target scintillation pulse can be reduced, increasing the signal-to-noise ratio of the pulse signal and improving interference immunity.

[0075] Step 140: Multiple sampling thresholds are set in advance, and multi-threshold sampling is performed on the target scintillation pulse based on the multiple sampling thresholds to obtain second sampling data.

[0076] In some embodiments, the multiple sampling thresholds are determined based on empirical data and / or prior information of the scintillation pulse. For example, using an electrical pulse as an example, the amplification factor of the reference voltage of the radiation source is determined from an analysis of statistical data of a large number of electrical pulses produced by high-energy particles generated by the radiation source, and this factor is the same as the factor used when acquiring the target scintillation pulse (i.e., amplified by k1 × k2), resulting in an amplified value of approximately 69 mV (the reference voltage becomes smaller when amplified to provide isolation from the DC current). The minimum sampling threshold among the sampling thresholds may be set approximately 50 mV to 60 mV greater than 69 mV. For example, the minimum sampling threshold is 120 mV. The multiple sampling thresholds may be set based on the maximum amplitude of the scintillation pulse corresponding to a true single event. For example, in a PET scan, a pair of gamma photons produced by annihilation both have an energy of 511 keV, and the maximum amplitude of the corresponding scintillation pulse after amplification is close to 400 mV. If a gamma photon enters a crystal channel and its energy is accumulated without scattering, the maximum amplitude of the scintillation pulse generated by the coupled photoelectric device will also be amplified to nearly 400 mV. Therefore, the maximum sampling threshold among the multiple sampling thresholds can be set to 400 mV or a value close to it, thereby allowing the obtained sampling data to better reconstruct the waveform and energy of the scintillation pulse corresponding to a true single event. When setting the multiple sampling thresholds, the amplification process when acquiring the target scintillation pulse was taken into consideration.

[0077] In some embodiments, the intervals between the multiple sampling thresholds are equal. That is, the multiple sampling thresholds form an arithmetic progression. Taking voltage thresholds as an example, assuming that the minimum sampling threshold is 120mV and the maximum sampling threshold is 400mV, eight sampling thresholds can be set with a threshold interval of 40mV: 120mV, 160mV, 200mV, 240mV, 280mV, 320mV, 360mV, and 400mV. The threshold intervals may be other values, such as 10mV, 20mV, 30mV, etc., but are not specifically limited in this disclosure. In some embodiments, the intervals between the multiple sampling thresholds do not have to be the same. For example, the threshold intervals are increased as the number of sampling thresholds increases. For example, the interval between the minimum sampling threshold and the second smallest sampling threshold is 10mV, the interval between the second smallest sampling threshold and the third smallest sampling threshold is 20mV, and so on.

[0078] In some embodiments, other features of the sampling threshold are the same as or similar to those of the trigger threshold. For example, the type of sampling threshold may be a voltage threshold, current threshold, acoustic intensity threshold, heat threshold, pressure threshold, etc., depending on the representation of the scintillation pulse.

[0079] In some embodiments, the sampling circuit for sampling the target scintillation pulse based on the multiple sampling thresholds is similar to the sampling circuit shown in Figure 4, differing only in that it includes a number of parallel-connected comparators equal to the number of sampling thresholds. Assuming there are eight sampling thresholds, the sampling circuit includes eight comparators, each receiving the input of the target scintillation pulse and one sampling threshold. Similarly, a DAC is used to set the sampling thresholds. Two TDCs are connected to each comparator. When the target scintillation pulse exceeds a sampling threshold, the comparator outputs a state transition signal. The TDC can determine the time by performing time-digital sampling on the state transition signal. After the target scintillation pulse exceeds each of the eight sampling thresholds, the TDC determines 16 times. As a result, at most 16 threshold-time pairs can be obtained through sampling. 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, the determination of whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event is made by determining whether the second sampling data includes a maximum sampling threshold. By referring to the above setting for the sampling threshold, the maximum sampling threshold can be set to be close to the maximum amplitude of the scintillation pulse corresponding to a true single event, thereby effectively selecting a true single event. If the second sampling data includes a threshold-time pair corresponding to the maximum sampling threshold, the target scintillation pulse is determined to correspond to a true single event. That is, one or more (e.g., two or more) effective scintillation pulses superimposed to form the target scintillation pulse include a target single event and a scattered single event (e.g., scattering occurs), or the effective scintillation pulse itself corresponds to a true single event (e.g., no scattering occurs). Otherwise, one or more effective scintillation pulses superimposed to form the target scintillation pulse correspond to a scattered single event, and since no energy calculation is required, they are all rejected.

[0082] In some embodiments, the second sampled data is used to perform fitting to the target scintillation pulse. For example, 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. The fitting data is constructed by setting the threshold value to y and the time value to x in the threshold-time pair included in the second sampled data. Function fitting is performed using the least squares method to determine the parameters a and b. The equation of the function model after the parameters have been determined can represent the fitted pulse waveform (the pulse waveform obtained by fitting) of the target scintillation pulse. For example, this may be the curve shape shown in a coordinate system.

[0083] In some embodiments, the energy value corresponding to the target scintillation pulse can be determined based on the fitting pulse waveform. For example, the integrated value obtained by integrating the fitting pulse waveform is the energy value. By determining whether the energy value satisfies predetermined conditions, it can be determined whether the target pulse corresponds to a true single event. The energy of the high-energy particle that generates the scintillation pulse is a constant value. For example, the energy of a gamma photon is 511 keV. Exemplarily, the predetermined condition is that the energy value becomes 511 keV or higher after reduction (for example, the reduction factor is the amplification factor used when the target scintillation pulse was acquired). If the energy value of the target pulse becomes 511 keV or higher after reduction, it is determined that this energy value is the effective energy value and the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event. One or more effective scintillation pulses (e.g., two or more) that superimpose to form the target scintillation pulse include a target single event and a scattering single event (e.g., scattering occurs), or the effective scintillation pulse itself corresponds to a true single event (e.g., no scattering occurs). Otherwise, one or more effective scintillation pulses that superimpose to form the target scintillation pulse correspond to a single scattering event, do not require energy calculation, and are all rejected.

[0084] Step 160: Based on the first and second sampling data, determine the event information for 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 a target scintillation pulse obtained by superimposing one or more effective scintillation pulses corresponds to a true single event, the one or more effective scintillation pulses are generated when a target high-energy particle (e.g., a gamma photon in a PET system) enters a crystal channel, causing energy accumulation (regardless of whether scattering occurs), and correspond to the pulse signal to be sampled. In this case, 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 may represent the time at which the true single event occurs. One or more active scintillation pulses always include a scintillation pulse corresponding to the target single event (no scattering occurs) and may further include a scintillation pulse corresponding to a scattered single event (scattering occurs). 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 effective scintillation pulse, the first sampling data includes a first rise time when the effective scintillation pulse first exceeds the relatively smaller of two trigger thresholds, a first fall time when it exceeds the relatively smaller trigger threshold a second time, and a second rise time when the effective scintillation pulse first exceeds the relatively larger of two trigger thresholds, and a second fall time when it exceeds the relatively larger trigger threshold a second time. As shown in Figure 3, the first rise time is t0 and the first fall time is t3. The second rise time is t1 and the second fall time is t2. The time when the effective scintillation pulse first exceeds the threshold is considered to be the time when a high-energy particle reaches the crystal channel and generates the corresponding single event, and is recorded as T_S=t0. The time information can be determined by comparing the minimum rise times among the first rise times corresponding to one or more effective scintillation pulses. For example, the magnitude of T_S for all effective scintillation pulses is determined, and the smallest T_S is determined as the time information and is considered the occurrence time of a true single event.

[0088] In some embodiments, the energy of an effective scintillation pulse may be expressed in terms of pulse width. For example, the higher the energy of a scintillation pulse, the larger the amplitude and the longer the duration, and therefore the longer the duration when it exceeds a certain threshold. This pulse width may be called the relative energy of the effective scintillation pulse. In this disclosure, the relative energy can be determined from the first sampling data and the effective scintillation pulse corresponding to the target true event can be identified. In some embodiments, the relative energy is the difference between the second fall time and the first rise time, i.e., relative energy E_S = t2 - t0. In conventional methods, it is common to determine the relative energy using one threshold, which is relatively simple but susceptible to interference and unreliable. In this disclosure, determining the pulse width using two thresholds allows for limiting the energy width required for the event and is highly reliable. After determining the relative energy of all effective scintillation pulses, the first rise time corresponding to the highest relative energy among the relative energies is designated as the time information. That is, the first rise time of the effective scintillation pulse with the highest relative energy is designated as the time information for a 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, the one or more active pulse signals are generated by a crystal channel of a radiation detector. For example, a photoelectric conversion member generates a scintillation pulse when a high-energy particle enters the crystal channel, accumulates energy, and is 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 active scintillation pulse corresponding to the time information can be determined. The active scintillation pulse is the earliest generated scintillation pulse, and the true single event occurs within the crystal channel corresponding to the active scintillation pulse. Therefore, the location mark of the crystal channel (for example, the 10th crystal channel shown in Figure 2) is the location information of the true single event.

[0090] The above description of each step shown in Figure 1 is for illustrative purposes only 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 Figure 1 based on this specification. These modifications and changes are within the scope of this specification.

[0091] The first data processing system 800 for realizing the exemplary process 100 relating to this disclosure may be equipment with a large amount of computing resources (e.g., a computer, server, cloud computing, etc.) or equipment with finite computing resources (e.g., hardware circuits such as FPGA chips and ASIC chips).

[0092] The scintillation pulse processing method described herein allows for limiting the energy width of a true single event by the duration of two thresholds, resulting in high reliability and prevention of missampling. Furthermore, by utilizing multi-threshold sampling, the temporal, positional, and energetic information of incident high-energy particles can be accurately reconstructed.

[0093] Figure 6 is an illustrative flowchart of a scintillation pulse processing method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the scintillation pulse processing method 600 is performed by a second data processing system 900. For example, the scintillation pulse processing method 600 is stored in a storage device (e.g., an internal storage unit of the second data processing system 900 or an external storage device) in the form of a program or command, and the scintillation pulse processing method 600 is realized when the program or command is executed. As shown in Figure 6, the scintillation pulse processing method 600 includes the following steps.

[0094] Step 610: Two trigger thresholds are set in advance, and multi-threshold sampling is performed for each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds to obtain first sample data.

[0095] Step 620: The target scintillation pulse is obtained by superimposing the at least two scintillation pulses.

[0096] Step 630: Multiple sampling thresholds are set in advance, and multi-threshold sampling is performed on the target scintillation pulse based on the multiple sampling thresholds to obtain second sampling data.

[0097] Step 640: Based on the second sampling data, determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.

[0098] Step 650: Based on the first and second sampling data, determine the target event information for the true single event.

[0099] Process 600 differs from Process 100 in the following respects: For acquiring the target scintillation pulse, it is unnecessary to directly superimpose the at least two scintillation pulses and selectively remove the noise signal. In the process of acquiring the target scintillation pulse, amplification and addition can reduce the proportion of the noise signal in the target scintillation pulse, thereby mitigating the interference effect of the noise signal. Therefore, the signal-to-noise ratio of the target scintillation pulse can be increased, improving interference immunity.

[0100] Figure 7 is an illustrative schematic diagram of a scintillation pulse processing circuit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to Figures 7, 4, and 5, the signal transmission of process 600 will be explained using the example of outputting a scintillation pulse through a single crystal channel (e.g., Simp1). The scintillation pulse output by Simp1 is output to two comparators installed in parallel, compared with two trigger thresholds, and sampled to obtain first sampled data. The scintillation pulse output by Simp1 is then simultaneously input to a first amplifier circuit to obtain an amplified scintillation pulse. Furthermore, this is added to the amplified scintillation pulses output by other crystal channels, each amplified by the respective first amplifier circuits, and input to a second amplifier circuit for further amplification to obtain the target scintillation pulse.

[0101] Process 600 does not require the selection of effective scintillation pulses, but it does not affect the final result, further saves computational resources, reduces computation time, and improves computational efficiency.

[0102] The second data processing system 900 for implementing the exemplary process 600 relating to this disclosure may be equipment with a large amount of computing resources (e.g., a computer, server, cloud computing, etc.) or equipment with finite computing resources (e.g., hardware circuits such as FPGA chips, ASIC chips, etc.). The second data processing system 900 may be the same system as the first data processing system 800. When implementing process 600, the module for determining the effective scintillation pulse in the first data processing system 800 does not need to be in operation.

[0103] The above description of each step shown in Figure 6 is for illustrative purposes only 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 Figure 6 based on this specification. These modifications and changes are within the scope of this specification.

[0104] Figure 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 scintillation pulses. As shown in Figure 8, the first data processing system 800 comprises 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 acquire first sampling data by pre-setting two trigger thresholds in step 110 above and performing multi-threshold sampling on each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds. The at least two scintillation pulses are generated by at least two crystal channels in the radiation detector. The two trigger thresholds are used to determine the point in time when the amplitude of the scintillation pulse exceeds the trigger threshold by comparing it with the amplitude of the scintillation pulse. By setting two trigger thresholds to be compared with the scintillation pulse, false detection of noise signals can be effectively prevented. The first sampling module 810 is configured to compare the scintillation pulse with the two trigger thresholds using two comparators installed in parallel. When the scintillation pulse exceeds the trigger threshold, the comparator outputs a state transition signal. The first sampling module 810 is configured to determine the transition time by performing time-data sampling on the state transition signal using two time-digital converters. Thus, 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 enable the determination of one or more effective 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 an effective scintillation pulse by determining whether the first sampling data contains a relatively large trigger threshold. The first determination module 820 determines that the scintillation pulse is an effective scintillation pulse when it determines that the first sampling data contains relevant sampling point data (e.g., threshold-time pairs) in which the scintillation pulse exceeds a relatively large trigger threshold.

[0107] The first adder module 830 is configured to acquire a target scintillation pulse by superimposing the one or more effective scintillation pulses in step 130 above. The first adder module 830 acquires one or more first amplified scintillation pulses by amplifying each of the one or more effective scintillation pulses using one or more first amplifier circuits installed in parallel. A second amplifier circuit installed in series with the one or more first amplifier circuits installed in parallel amplifies the intermediate scintillation pulse obtained by the sum of the one or more input first amplified scintillation pulses to acquire a second amplified scintillation pulse. By amplifying and adding the pulses, the proportion of the noise signal that has not been 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 interference immunity can be improved.

[0108] The second sampling module 840 is configured to enable the acquisition of second sampling data by pre-setting a plurality of sampling thresholds in step 140 above, and performing multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the plurality of sampling thresholds. 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 may be increased as the number of sampling thresholds increases. The second sampling module 840 may perform sampling on the one or more effective scintillation pulses in the same or similar manner as the first sampling module 810.

[0109] The second determinative module 850 is configured to perform the determination in step 150 above, based on the second sampling data, whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event. The second determinative 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 determinative module 850 can determine that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event. The second determinative module 850 is further configured to perform curve fitting on the target scintillation pulse based on the second sampling data to obtain a fitted pulse waveform of the target scintillation pulse. The second determinative module 850 is configured to perform integration on the fitted 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 satisfies predetermined conditions.

[0110] The first information acquisition module 860 is configured to determine event information for the true single event based on the first and second sampling data in step 160 described 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 reduces the energy value corresponding to the target scintillation pulse to obtain the energy information. The event information further includes time information. The time information can represent the time at which the true single event occurs. The first information acquisition module 860 can determine the time information by comparing the minimum rise time among the first rise times corresponding to one or more effective scintillation pulses. The first information acquisition module 860 further uses the first rise 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 at which the true single event occurred. The first information acquisition module 860 uses the position mark of the crystal channel corresponding to the effective scintillation pulse corresponding to the time information as the position information.

[0111] Figure 9 is an exemplary block diagram of another data processing system according to some embodiments of this specification. This data processing system can achieve accurate sampling of scintillation pulses. As shown in Figure 9, the second data processing system 900 comprises a third sampling module 910, a second adding 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 enable the acquisition of first sampling data by presetting two trigger thresholds in step 610, and performing multi-threshold sampling for each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds.

[0113] The second adder module 920 is configured to achieve the acquisition of a target scintillation pulse by superimposing the at least two scintillation pulses in step 620 described above.

[0114] The fourth sampling module 930 is configured to enable the acquisition of second sampling data by pre-setting a plurality of sampling thresholds in step 630, and performing multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the plurality of sampling thresholds.

[0115] The third determination module 940 is configured to enable the determination, based on the second sampling data in step 640 above, whether or not the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event.

[0116] The second information acquisition module 950 is configured to enable the determination of the target event information of the true single event based on the first sampling data and the second sampling data in step 650 described above.

[0117] The second data processing system 900 may be the same system as the first data processing system 800. When process 600 is implemented, the first deterministic 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] Further descriptions of the above modules can be found in the flowcharts and related parts of this disclosure, for example, in Figures 1 to 7.

[0119] The systems and modules shown in Figures 8 and 9 can be implemented in various ways. For example, in some embodiments, the systems and modules can be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware. The hardware portion is implemented by dedicated logic, the software portion is stored in memory, and executed by an appropriate command execution system, such as a microprocessor or specially designed hardware. As those skilled in the art will see, the above methods and systems can be implemented by computer-executable commands and / or by being contained in processor control code, for example, by being contained in a carrier medium such as a disk, CD or DVD-ROM, or in programmable memory such as read-only memory (firmware), or by providing such code to a data carrier such as an optical or electrical signal carrier. The systems and modules described herein may be implemented by hardware circuits of ultra-large-scale integrated circuits or semiconductors such as gate arrays, logic chips, transistors, or programmable hardware devices such as field-programmable gate arrays or programmable logic devices, or by software executed on various processors, or by a combination of the above hardware circuits and software (e.g., firmware).

[0120] The above description of the modules is for illustrative purposes only, and this specification is not limited to the embodiments given. Those skilled in the art, understanding the principles of the system, may combine the modules as they see fit, or divide them into subsystems connected to other modules, without departing from these principles. For example, each module may share one storage module, or each module may have its own storage module. Any such modifications fall within the scope of this specification.

[0121] Figure 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 necessary to implement the system according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the processing device 1000 may be implemented by hardware, software programs, firmware, or a combination thereof. For example, the processing device 1000 implements a first data processing system 800 and a second data processing system 900. For convenience, only one processing device is depicted in the drawing, but to distribute 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 comprises 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, such as disks, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), etc., for storing various data files processed and / or transmitted by the 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 enable data communication. Exemplarily, the processing device includes program commands executed by the processor 1010, stored in read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), and / or other types of non-temporary 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 this disclosure via network communication.

[0123] For ease of understanding, Figure 10 illustrates only one processor, but the processing device 1000 in the embodiments of this specification may include multiple processors. Therefore, operations and / or methods described in the embodiments of this specification that are implemented by one processor may be implemented by the cooperation of multiple processors, or by each processor independently. For example, if it is stated in this specification that the processors of the processing device 1000 perform steps 1 and 2, steps 1 and 2 may be performed by the cooperation of two different processors of the processing device 1000, or by each processor independently (for example, step 1 is performed by the first processor and step 2 is performed by the second processor, or steps 1 and 2 are performed by the cooperation of the first and second processors).

[0124] The scintillation pulse processing method relating to this disclosure can be used particularly for photon detection and can be applied to many fields such as medical imaging technology, high-energy physics, laser radar, autonomous driving, precision analysis, and optical communications. In one specific example, the scintillation pulse processing method, apparatus, equipment, and storage medium relating to this disclosure can be used in positron emission tomography (PET), where a PET system can acquire photon data and perform image reconstruction using an embodiment of this disclosure. In another specific example of this disclosure, the scintillation pulse processing method, apparatus, equipment, and storage medium relating to this disclosure can be used in many digital devices, such as one or more combinations of devices utilizing high-energy radiation conversion principles, and other devices utilizing photoelectric conversion, such as CT scanners, MRI scanners, radiation detectors, petroleum detectors, weak light detectors, SPECT scanners, security check devices, gamma cameras, X-ray scanners, and DR scanners.

[0125] While this application describes the basic concepts, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the above detailed description is illustrative and does not limit this specification. Those skilled in the art can make various changes, improvements, and modifications to this specification, which are suggested herein and therefore fall within the spirit and scope of the examples herein.

[0126] Furthermore, in this specification, the examples herein are described using specific terminology. For example, “one example,” “one embodiment,” and / or “several examples” mean a certain feature, structure, or property relating to at least one example herein. Therefore, if “one example,” “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 example. Also, certain features, structures, or properties in one or more examples herein can be combined as appropriate.

[0127] As those skilled in the art will see, each aspect of this specification is described by several types or situations that are patentable, including any combination of novel and useful processes, equipment, products or substances, or novel and useful improvements thereto. Accordingly, each aspect of this specification may be executed entirely by hardware, entirely by software (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.), or by a combination of hardware and software. The hardware or software described above may both be referred to as “data blocks,” “modules,” “engines,” “units,” “assemblies,” or “systems.” Furthermore, each aspect of this specification may be represented as a computer product located on one or more computer-readable media, the product including computer-readable program code.

[0128] A computer storage medium may include propagated data signals that propagate over the baseband or as part of a carrier wave for carrying computer program code. These propagated signals may take various forms, such as electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or appropriate combinations thereof. The computer storage medium may be any computer-readable medium other than a computer-readable storage medium, which can be connected to a command execution system, device, or apparatus to enable communication, propagation, or transmission of the program being used. The program code in the computer storage medium can be propagated via any appropriate medium, including wireless, cable, fiber optic cable, RF or similar media, or any combination of the above media.

[0129] The computer program code required to operate 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, and Python; traditional procedural programming languages ​​such as C, Visual Basic, Fortran 3003, Perl, COBOL 3002, PHP, and ABAP; dynamic programming languages ​​such as Python, Ruby, and Groovy; or other programming languages. The program code may run entirely on the user's computer, run as a standalone software package on the user's computer, run partially on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or run entirely on a remote computer or server. In the latter case, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer via any network configuration such as a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), connected to an external computer (e.g., via the Internet), in a cloud computing environment, or used as a service such as Software as a Service (SaaS).

[0130] Furthermore, unless explicitly stated in the claims, the order of the listed processing elements or sequences herein, the use of alphanumeric characters, or the use of other names does not limit the order of the processes and methods of this application. In the above disclosure, various examples have been used to illustrate what are currently considered to be various useful embodiments of the invention, but these details are for illustrative purposes only, and the claims are not limited to the embodiments disclosed. The claims cover all modifications and equivalent combinations that fall within the spirit and scope of the embodiments of this application. For example, the above system assembly may be implemented by hardware equipment, but may also be implemented by software-only solutions, such as by installing the described system on a conventional server or mobile device.

[0131] Similarly, in order to simplify the description herein and facilitate the understanding of embodiments of one or more inventions, various features may be grouped together in a single embodiment, drawing or description thereof. However, such a method of disclosure does not mean that the features necessary for what is relating to this specification are greater than the features referred to in the claims. In fact, the features of an embodiment may be fewer than all the features of a single embodiment disclosed above.

[0132] In some embodiments, numbers are used to describe the number of components and attributes. Such numbers used to describe embodiments are indicated in some examples by “approximately,” “about,” or “roughly.” Unless otherwise specified, “approximately,” “about,” or “roughly” indicates that a variation of ±20% of the above numbers is acceptable. Thus, in some embodiments, the numerical parameters used in the specification and claims are all approximations that may vary depending on the characteristics required for the individual embodiment. In some embodiments, the numerical parameters should be treated with respect to a specified number of significant figures and the application of standard rounding techniques. In some embodiments of this specification, the numerical ranges and parameters used to determine their ranges are approximations, but in specific embodiments, such numbers are set as precisely as possible.

[0133] All patents, patent applications, published patent gazettes, other materials, documents, books, specifications, publications, and other materials referenced herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, except for prosecution documents that are inconsistent with or contradict the content of this Specified, and documents that affect the broadest scope of the claims of this application (now or later incorporated herein). If the use of explanations, definitions, and / or terms in the appendices herein is inconsistent with or contradicts the content of this Specified, the use of explanations, definitions, and / or terms herein shall prevail.

[0134] The examples provided herein are for illustrative purposes only. Other modifications may also be within the scope of this application. Therefore, alternative examples to those described herein may be considered consistent with the teachings herein, without limitation. Thus, the examples of this application are not limited to those described herein.

[0135] Industrial applicability

[0136] This disclosure discloses a method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for processing scintillation pulses. The method includes the steps of: 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 effective scintillation pulses from at least two scintillation pulses based on the first sampling data; superimposing the effective scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse; setting multiple sampling thresholds and performing multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the multiple 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, if the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, determining the event information of the true single event based on the first and second sampling data. This disclosure allows for limitation of the time information and energy width of a true single event by the duration of the two thresholds, making it reliable and preventing missampling.

[0137] Furthermore, the scintillation pulse processing methods, apparatus, devices, and storage media relating to this disclosure are feasible and applicable to a variety of industrial applications. For example, the scintillation pulse processing methods, apparatus, devices, and storage media relating to this disclosure can be applied to the field of data processing.

Claims

1. A method for processing scintillation pulses, The aforementioned processing method is: The steps include: setting two trigger thresholds in advance, performing multi-threshold sampling for each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds, and acquiring first sampling data; Based on the first sampling data, the step of determining one or more effective scintillation pulses from the at least two scintillation pulses, The steps include: superimposing one or more effective scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse; The steps include: setting multiple sampling thresholds in advance, performing multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the multiple sampling thresholds, and acquiring second sampling data; A step of determining whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data, If the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, the step includes determining the event information of the true single event based on the first and second sampling data. A method for processing scintillation pulses, characterized by the features described above.

2. The step of determining one or more effective scintillation pulses from the at least two scintillation pulses based on the first sampling data is: The steps include determining whether the first sampling data contains the relatively larger of the two trigger thresholds for any given scintillation pulse, The process includes the step of determining that the scintillation pulse is the effective scintillation pulse if the first sampling data contains the relatively larger of the two trigger thresholds. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to feature 1.

3. The step of superimposing one or more effective scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse is: The steps include: amplifying the effective scintillation pulses using one or more first amplification circuits installed in parallel to obtain one or more amplified scintillation pulses; The process includes the step of amplifying an intermediate scintillation pulse obtained by the sum of one or more input amplified scintillation pulses using one or more first amplification circuits installed in parallel and a second amplification circuit installed in series, in order to obtain the target scintillation pulse. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to feature 1.

4. The plurality of sampling thresholds are determined based on empirical data and / or priori 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 scintillation pulses according to feature 1.

5. The step of determining whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data is: A step of determining whether the second sampling data includes the maximum sampling threshold, The step of determining that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event if the second sampling data includes the maximum sampling threshold. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to feature 4.

6. The step of determining whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data is: The steps include: performing pulse fitting on the target scintillation pulse based on the second sampling data to determine the fitting pulse waveform; The steps include determining the energy value corresponding to the target scintillation pulse based on the fitting pulse waveform, A step of determining whether the aforementioned energy value satisfies predetermined conditions, The step of determining that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event if the energy value satisfies predetermined conditions. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to feature 1.

7. The aforementioned event information includes energy information, and determining the energy information is If the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, the energy information is determined based on the energy value. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to feature 6.

8. For any effective scintillation pulse, the first sampling data includes a first rise time when the effective scintillation pulse first exceeds a relatively small trigger threshold, a first fall time when it exceeds the relatively small trigger threshold a second time, a second rise time when it first exceeds a relatively large trigger threshold, and a second fall time when it exceeds the relatively large trigger threshold a second time. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to feature 1.

9. The aforementioned event information includes time information, and determining the time information is The steps include determining the minimum rise time among the first rise times corresponding to one or more effective scintillation pulses, The step includes setting the minimum rise time as the time information. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to feature 8.

10. The aforementioned event information includes time information, and determining the time information is The steps include determining the relative energy corresponding to each effective scintillation pulse, The step includes setting the first rise time corresponding to the maximum relative energy among the aforementioned relative energies as the time information, The relative energy is the difference between the second fall time and the first rise time. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to feature 8.

11. The at least two scintillation pulses are generated by the crystal channel of the radiation detector, and the event information includes location information, and determining the location information is The steps include determining the position mark of the crystal channel corresponding to the effective scintillation pulse corresponding to the aforementioned time information, The step of using the position mark as position information includes The method for processing scintillation pulses according to characteristic 9.

12. A method for processing scintillation pulses, The aforementioned processing method is: The steps include: setting two trigger thresholds in advance, performing multi-threshold sampling for each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds, and acquiring first sampling data; The steps include superimposing the aforementioned at least two scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse, The steps include: setting multiple sampling thresholds in advance, performing multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the multiple sampling thresholds, and acquiring second sampling data; A step of determining whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data, If the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, the step includes determining the event information of the true single event based on the first and second sampling data. A method for processing scintillation pulses, characterized by the features described above.

13. The step of superimposing the aforementioned at least two scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse is: The steps include: amplifying the at least two scintillation pulses using at least two first amplification circuits installed in parallel to obtain at least two amplified scintillation pulses; The process includes the step of amplifying an intermediate scintillation pulse obtained by the sum of the input amplified scintillation pulses by at least two first amplifier circuits installed in parallel and a second amplifier circuit installed in series, in order to obtain the target scintillation pulse. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to feature 12.

14. The plurality of sampling thresholds are determined based on empirical data and / or priori 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 scintillation pulses according to feature 12.

15. The step of determining whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data is: A step of determining whether the second sampling data includes the maximum sampling threshold, The step of determining that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event if the second sampling data includes the maximum sampling threshold. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to feature 14.

16. The step of determining whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data is: The steps include: performing pulse fitting on the target scintillation pulse based on the second sampling data to determine the fitting pulse waveform; The steps include determining the energy value corresponding to the target scintillation pulse based on the fitting pulse waveform, A step of determining whether the aforementioned energy value satisfies predetermined conditions, The step of determining that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event if the energy value satisfies predetermined conditions. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to feature 12.

17. The aforementioned event information includes energy information, and determining the energy information is If the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, the energy information is determined based on the energy value. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to feature 16.

18. A scintillation pulse in which the first sampling data includes a relatively large trigger threshold is an effective scintillation pulse, and for any effective scintillation pulse, the first sampling data includes a first rise time when the effective scintillation pulse first exceeds a relatively small trigger threshold, a first fall time when it exceeds the relatively small trigger threshold a second time, and a second rise time when it first exceeds the relatively large trigger threshold, and a second fall time when it exceeds the relatively large trigger threshold a second time. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to feature 12.

19. The aforementioned event information includes time information, and determining the time information is A step of determining the minimum rise time among the first rise times corresponding to one or more effective scintillation pulses, The step includes setting the minimum rise time as the time information. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to feature 18.

20. The aforementioned event information includes time information, and determining the time information is The steps include determining the relative energy corresponding to each effective scintillation pulse, The step includes setting the first rise time corresponding to the maximum relative energy among the aforementioned relative energies as the time information, The relative energy is the difference between the second fall time and the first rise time. The method for processing scintillation pulses according to feature 18.

21. The at least two scintillation pulses are generated by the crystal channel of the radiation detector, and the event information includes location information, and determining the location information is The steps include determining the position mark of the crystal channel corresponding to the effective scintillation pulse corresponding to the aforementioned time information, The step of using the position mark as position information includes The method for processing scintillation pulses according to feature 19.

22. A scintillation pulse processing device, The aforementioned processing apparatus is A first sampling module is configured to set two trigger thresholds in advance, perform multi-threshold sampling for each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds, and acquire first sampling data. A first determination module configured to determine one or more effective scintillation pulses from the at least two scintillation pulses based on the first sampling data, A first adder module configured to acquire a target scintillation pulse by superimposing one or more of the above-mentioned effective scintillation pulses, A second sampling module is configured to set multiple sampling thresholds in advance, perform multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the multiple sampling thresholds, and acquire second sampling data. A second determinative module is configured to determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data, If the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, the system includes a first information acquisition module configured to determine event information for the true single event based on the first sampling data and / or the second sampling data. A scintillation pulse processing apparatus characterized by the following:

23. Based on the first sampling data, the first determination module determines one or more effective scintillation pulses from the at least two scintillation pulses, For any scintillation pulse, the system is configured to determine whether the first sampling data contains a relatively large trigger threshold from among the trigger thresholds, and if the first sampling data contains a relatively large trigger threshold from among the trigger thresholds, to determine that the scintillation pulse is the effective scintillation pulse. The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to feature 22.

24. The first adder module superimposes one or more effective scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse. One or more first amplification circuits installed in parallel amplify the effective scintillation pulses to obtain one or more amplified scintillation pulses. The system is configured to amplify an intermediate scintillation pulse obtained by summing one or more input amplified scintillation pulses, using one or more first amplification circuits installed in parallel and a second amplification circuit installed in series, to acquire the target scintillation pulse. The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to feature 22.

25. The plurality of sampling thresholds are determined based on empirical data and / or priori 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 feature 22.

26. Based on the second sampling data, the second determination module determines whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event. Determine whether the second sampling data includes the maximum sampling threshold. If the second sampling data includes the maximum sampling threshold, the system is configured to determine that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event. The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to feature 25.

27. Based on the second sampling data, the second determination module determines whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event. Based on the second sampling data, pulse fitting is performed on the target scintillation pulse to determine the fitted pulse waveform. Based on the fitting pulse waveform, the energy value corresponding to the target scintillation pulse is determined. Determine whether the aforementioned energy value satisfies the predetermined conditions. The system is configured to determine that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event when the aforementioned energy value satisfies predetermined conditions. The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to feature 22.

28. The event information includes energy information, and the first information acquisition module determines the energy information. When the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, the system is configured to determine the energy information based on the energy value. The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to feature 27.

29. For any effective scintillation pulse, the first sampling data includes a first rise time when the effective scintillation pulse first exceeds a relatively small trigger threshold, a first fall time when it exceeds the relatively small trigger threshold a second time, a second rise time when it first exceeds a relatively large trigger threshold, and a second fall time when it exceeds the relatively large trigger threshold a second time. The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to feature 22.

30. The event information includes time information, and the first information acquisition module determines the time information. Determine the minimum rise time among the first rise times corresponding to one or more effective scintillation pulses. The minimum rise time is configured to be the time information. The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to feature 29.

31. The event information includes time information, and the first information acquisition module determines the time information. Determine the relative energy corresponding to each effective scintillation pulse. The system is configured to use the first rise time corresponding to the maximum relative energy among the aforementioned relative energies as the time information. The relative energy is the difference between the second fall time and the first rise time. The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to feature 29.

32. The at least two scintillation pulses are generated by the crystal channel of the radiation detector, and the event information includes location information, and the first information acquisition module determines the location information. The position mark of the crystal channel corresponding to the effective scintillation pulse corresponding to the aforementioned time information is determined, The position mark is configured to be the position information. The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to feature 30.

33. A scintillation pulse processing device, The aforementioned processing apparatus is A third sampling module is configured to set two trigger thresholds in advance, perform multi-threshold sampling for each of at least two scintillation pulses based on the two trigger thresholds, and acquire first sampling data. A second adder module configured to acquire a target scintillation pulse by superimposing the aforementioned at least two scintillation pulses, A fourth sampling module is configured to set multiple sampling thresholds in advance, perform multi-threshold sampling on the target scintillation pulse based on the multiple sampling thresholds, and acquire second sampling data. A third determinative module is configured to determine whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event based on the second sampling data, If the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, the system includes a second information acquisition module configured to determine event information for the true single event based on the first sampling data and / or the second sampling data. A scintillation pulse processing apparatus characterized by the following:

34. The second adder module superimposes the at least two scintillation pulses to obtain a target scintillation pulse. At least two first amplification circuits, installed in parallel, amplify the at least two scintillation pulses to obtain at least two amplified scintillation pulses. The system is configured to amplify the intermediate scintillation pulse obtained by the sum of the input amplified scintillation pulses, which is the sum of the at least two first amplification circuits installed in parallel and the second amplification circuit installed in series, in order to obtain the target scintillation pulse. The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to feature 33.

35. The plurality of sampling thresholds are determined based on empirical data and / or priori 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 feature 33.

36. Based on the second sampling data, the third determination module determines whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event. Determine whether the second sampling data includes the maximum sampling threshold. If the second sampling data includes the maximum sampling threshold, the system is configured to determine that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event. The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to feature 35.

37. Based on the second sampling data, the third determination module determines whether the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event. Based on the second sampling data, pulse fitting is performed on the target scintillation pulse to determine the fitted pulse waveform. Based on the fitting pulse waveform, the energy value corresponding to the target scintillation pulse is determined. Determine whether the aforementioned energy value satisfies the predetermined conditions. The system is configured to determine that the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event when the aforementioned energy value satisfies predetermined conditions. The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to feature 33.

38. The event information includes energy information, and the second information acquisition module determines the energy information. When the target scintillation pulse corresponds to a true single event, the system is configured to determine the energy information based on the energy value. The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to feature 37.

39. A scintillation pulse that is shown by the first sampling data to have exceeded a relatively large trigger threshold is an effective scintillation pulse, and for any effective scintillation pulse, the first sampling data includes a first rise time when the effective scintillation pulse first exceeds a relatively small trigger threshold, a first fall time when it exceeds the relatively small trigger threshold a second time, and a second rise time when it first exceeds a relatively large trigger threshold, and a second fall time when it exceeds the relatively large trigger threshold a second time. The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to feature 33.

40. The event information includes time information, and the second information acquisition module determines the time information. Determine the minimum rise time among the first rise times corresponding to one or more effective scintillation pulses. The minimum rise time is configured to be the time information. The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to feature 39.

41. The event information includes time information, and the second information acquisition module determines the time information. Determine the relative energy corresponding to each effective scintillation pulse. The system is configured to use the first rise time corresponding to the maximum relative energy among the aforementioned relative energies as the time information. The relative energy is the difference between the second fall time and the first rise time. The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to feature 39.

42. The at least two scintillation pulses are generated by the crystal channel of the radiation detector, and the event information includes location information, and the second information acquisition module determines the location information. The position mark of the crystal channel corresponding to the effective scintillation pulse corresponding to the aforementioned time information is determined, The position mark is configured to be the position information. The scintillation pulse processing apparatus according to feature 40.

43. A scintillation pulse processing device, The processing apparatus comprises 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 realize the scintillation pulse processing method described in any one of claims 1 to 21. A scintillation pulse processing apparatus characterized by the following:

44. The apparatus comprises a scintillation pulse processing device according to any one of claims 22 to 42. A processing device characterized by the following features.

45. The system comprises 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 described in any one of claims 1 to 21 are realized. A processing device characterized by the following features.

46. A computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the processing method described in any one of claims 1 to 21 are realized. A computer-readable storage medium characterized by the following features.

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