Spatial coding detection unit, detector, method, apparatus, and storage medium

Abstract

The present application provides a spatial coding detection unit, a method, an apparatus, a detector, an electronic device and a storage medium. The spatial coding detection unit comprises: a scintillator; and a detection element, at least part of the detection element being embedded in the scintillator according to a preset spatial coding function, and the detection element being used for detecting high-energy rays, visible light and / or dielectric constants. The present application can simultaneously detect signals of high-energy rays, scintillation light signals generated by high-energy rays and dielectric constant signals caused by high-energy rays, so as to achieve simultaneous acquisition of high-temporal-resolution signals and high-energy-resolution signals. Further, using a spatial coding mode can acquire the deposition position of high-energy rays in scintillators more accurately, thus improving final imaging quality.

Description

Spatial coding detection unit, detector, method, device and storage medium

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202311773068.9 filed on December 21, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of high-energy photon detection, and in particular to a spatially coded detection unit, a detector, a method, an apparatus, an electronic device, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0003] Experiments in positron emission tomography, single-photon emission tomography, oil neutron logging, high-energy physics, and space physics often require the use of numerous high-energy particle detectors to detect gamma rays, neutrons, protons, alpha particles, and other particles. High-energy particle detectors can be broadly divided into two categories: direct detection, such as perovskite and metal detectors, which convert high-energy particles directly into electrical signals; and indirect detection, such as scintillation detectors, which first convert high-energy particles into low-energy scintillation light, which is then converted into electrical signals for processing using photoelectric converters such as silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) and photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). In direct detection, the charge generated at the high-energy radiation deposition site must be transported over an inherent distance before it can be captured. This process introduces randomness, significantly degrading temporal resolution. In indirect detection, the transport speed of scintillation photons is much greater than that of charge transport. While randomness still exists, it is relatively low, resulting in better temporal resolution. This is the mainstream approach for applications requiring high temporal resolution.

[0004] However, existing high-energy radiation detectors often struggle to obtain precise information about the location (especially the depth) of gamma-ray deposition within a scintillator. To address this challenge, several existing technologies, including spatially encoding optical properties, have been proposed. For example, patent publication number CN114910946A proposes spatially encoding scintillators to achieve position resolution. However, these methods require additional materials or processing, and their principles are still essentially indirect detection, failing to overcome the existing challenges of indirect detection. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application proposes a spatial coding detection unit, method, device, detector, electronic device and storage medium to solve at least one of the above problems.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present application, a spatial coding detection unit is proposed, which includes: a scintillator; a detection element, at least a portion of which is buried in the scintillator according to a preset spatial coding function, and the detection element is used to detect high-energy rays, visible light and / or dielectric constant.

[0007] According to some embodiments, the preset spatial coding function includes a one-dimensional spatial function, a two-dimensional spatial function, or a three-dimensional spatial function.

[0008] According to some embodiments, the detection elements include layered coding elements or mesh coding elements, and both the layered coding elements and the mesh coding elements are arranged according to the preset spatial coding function.

[0009] According to some embodiments, the detection element is made of superconducting nanowires.

[0010] According to some embodiments, the material of the superconducting nanowire includes at least one of NbTiN, NbN, NbSiN, NbReN and WSi.

[0011] According to some embodiments, the detection element is formed as a superconducting nanoblock, the superconducting nanoblock is formed by a superconducting nanobundle, and the superconducting nanobundle is formed by at least one superconducting nanowire.

[0012] According to some embodiments, the mesh coding element is formed by crossing at least two layers of the layered coding elements at a preset angle.

[0013] According to some embodiments, the mesh coding element is formed by two layers of layered coding elements crossing each other at 90°.

[0014] According to some embodiments, the mesh coding element is formed by three layers of layered coding elements intersecting each other at 90°.

[0015] According to some embodiments, the superconducting nanoblock includes at least one superconducting nanosurface formed by the superconducting nanobundle in a preset bending manner, and the superconducting nanosurfaces in the same superconducting nanoblock are connected in sequence.

[0016] According to some embodiments, the distances between the superconducting nano-planes in the same superconducting nano-block are the same or different.

[0017] According to some embodiments, the distances between the superconducting nanoblocks in the same layered coding element are the same or different.

[0018] According to some embodiments, the thickness of the superconducting nanoblock is less than 1 mm.

[0019] According to some embodiments, the superconducting nanoblocks are connected to the readout circuits in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0020] According to some embodiments, the scintillator comprises an inorganic scintillator crystal, a plastic scintillator, or a Cerenkov scintillator.

[0021] According to one aspect of the present application, a spatial coding detector is provided, which includes the spatial coding detection unit as described above.

[0022] According to some embodiments, the spatially coded detection units are distributed in an array.

[0023] According to some embodiments, the detection elements in different spatial coding detection units are arranged according to the same or different spatial coding functions.

[0024] According to some embodiments, a shielding layer is provided between adjacent spatial encoding detection units.

[0025] According to one aspect of the present application, a spatial coding method is provided, which includes: embedding at least a portion of detection elements in a scintillator according to a preset spatial coding function, wherein the detection elements detect high-energy rays, visible light and / or dielectric constant.

[0026] According to some embodiments, embedding at least a portion of the detection elements in the scintillator according to a preset spatial coding function includes embedding at least a portion of the detection elements in the scintillator according to a one-dimensional spatial function, a two-dimensional spatial function, or a three-dimensional spatial function.

[0027] According to some embodiments, the detection elements include layered coding elements or mesh coding elements, and both the layered coding elements and the mesh coding elements are arranged according to the preset spatial coding function.

[0028] According to some embodiments, the detection element is made of superconducting nanowires.

[0029] According to some embodiments, the material of the superconducting nanowire includes at least one of NbTiN, NbN, NbSiN, NbReN and WSi.

[0030] According to some embodiments, the detection element includes a superconducting nanobulk, the superconducting nanobundle is formed by at least one superconducting nanowire, and the superconducting nanobulk is formed by the superconducting nanobundle.

[0031] According to some embodiments, the mesh coding element is formed by crossing at least two layers of the layered coding elements at a preset angle.

[0032] According to some embodiments, the mesh coding element is formed by two layers of layered coding elements crossing each other at 90°.

[0033] According to some embodiments, the mesh coding element is formed by three layers of layered coding elements intersecting each other at 90°.

[0034] According to some embodiments, a superconducting nano-surface is formed by bending at least one of the superconducting nano-beams in a preset manner, and the superconducting nano-block is formed by sequentially connecting the superconducting nano-surfaces.

[0035] According to some embodiments, the distances between the superconducting nano-planes in the same superconducting nano-block are set to be the same or different.

[0036] According to some embodiments, the distances between the superconducting nanoblocks in the same layered coding element are set to be the same or different.

[0037] According to some embodiments, the thickness of the superconducting nanoblock is less than 1 mm.

[0038] According to some embodiments, the superconducting nanoblocks are connected to the readout circuits in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0039] According to some embodiments, the scintillator comprises an inorganic scintillator crystal, a plastic scintillator, or a Cerenkov scintillator.

[0040] According to one aspect of the present application, a spatial coding device is provided, which includes: a coding unit for burying at least a portion of detection elements in the scintillator according to a preset spatial coding function, and the signal intensity includes the signal intensity corresponding to high-energy rays, visible light and / or dielectric constant.

[0041] According to one aspect of the present application, a spatial decoding method is provided for use with the spatial coding detector as described above, the spatial decoding method comprising: obtaining the signal intensity generated by the detection element, the signal intensity comprising the signal intensity corresponding to high-energy rays, visible light and / or dielectric constant; and determining the deposition position of the high-energy rays in the scintillator based on a preset spatial coding function and the signal intensity.

[0042] According to some embodiments, determining the deposition position of the high-energy ray based on a preset spatial coding function and the signal intensity includes: obtaining the position information of all superconducting nanoblocks in the detection element in the scintillator based on the preset spatial coding function; and jointly determining the deposition position of the high-energy ray based on all the position information and the signal intensity information.

[0043] According to some embodiments, jointly determining the deposition position of the high-energy ray based on all the position information and the signal strength information includes: determining the position of the superconducting nanoblock with the maximum signal strength as the deposition position.

[0044] According to some embodiments, jointly determining the deposition position of the high-energy ray based on all the position information and the signal strength information includes: taking the signal strength of all the superconducting nanoblocks as weights, and weighting the position information of all the superconducting nanoblocks to obtain the deposition position.

[0045] According to some embodiments, the signal strength includes signal energy, peak value, arrival time, voltage and current values.

[0046] According to one aspect of the present application, a spatial coding detection device is provided, which includes the spatial coding detector.

[0047] According to some embodiments, the spatial encoding detection device further includes a detection ring, the spatial encoding detector is disposed within the detection ring, and the operating temperature of the detection ring is less than 10K.

[0048] According to one aspect of the present application, an electronic device is provided, comprising: one or more processors; a storage device for storing one or more programs; and when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the spatial encoding method or the spatial decoding method as described above.

[0049] According to one aspect of the present application, a storage medium is provided, on which computer program instructions are stored. When the computer program instructions are executed by a processor, the processor implements the spatial encoding method or the spatial decoding method as described above.

[0050] According to some example embodiments of the present application, compared with the existing conventional method of coupling photoelectric devices to one or both ends of the scintillator, the spatial coding detection unit provided by the present application has at least the following advantages: First, when performing imaging detection, high-energy rays are incident on the scintillator. Since the detection element is directly buried in the scintillator and can directly detect part of the high-energy rays, the transmission process of the light signal in the scintillator is omitted, the signal loss and distortion in this process is avoided, and the deterioration of the time resolution caused by the transmission process in the scintillator is reduced, thereby obtaining a higher time resolution; second, the high-energy rays can be converted into visible light by the scintillator, and then detected by the detection element buried in the scintillator. This step greatly reduces the visible light signal in the scintillator. The transmission process in the scintillator, and finally the signal processing by the readout circuit and the host computer can obtain more accurate energy information; thirdly, in terms of electrical principles, when high-energy particles interact with the scintillator, not only will visible light such as scintillation light and Cherenkov light be generated, but also changes in the local dielectric constant of the scintillator will be caused. Since the detection element can obtain the dielectric constant, the time resolution can be further improved; fourthly, since the detection element is buried in the scintillator in a manner that meets the preset spatial coding function, the deposition position of the high-energy ray in the scintillator can be accurately located through the spatial coding function of the detection element. The response line constructed based on this deposition position has a higher degree of consistency with the actual response line, so that the deposition position information of the high-energy ray can be obtained more accurately. In other words, the spatial coding detection unit provided in the present application can simultaneously detect the signal of the high-energy ray itself, the scintillation light signal generated by the high-energy ray, and the dielectric constant signal caused by the high-energy ray, so as to achieve the simultaneous acquisition of high-time resolution signal and high-energy resolution signal. Furthermore, the spatial coding method can more accurately obtain the deposition position of the high-energy ray in the scintillator, thereby improving the final imaging quality. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0051] The present application will be further described in the form of exemplary embodiments, which will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. These embodiments are not limiting, and in these embodiments, the same reference numerals represent the same structure, wherein:

[0052] FIG1 shows a schematic structural diagram of a spatial coding detection unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG2 is a schematic diagram showing a three-dimensional structure of a spatial coding detection unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG3 shows a schematic structural diagram of a spatial coding detection unit and a readout circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG4 is a schematic diagram showing spatial coding of a single superconducting nano-surface in a spatial coding detection unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG5 is a schematic diagram showing spatial encoding of a single superconducting nanoblock in a spatially coded detection unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG6 is a schematic diagram showing spatial encoding of a single superconducting nanoblock in another spatial encoding detection unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG7 is a schematic diagram showing spatial encoding of a single superconducting nanoblock in another spatial encoding detection unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG8 shows a schematic structural diagram of a spatial coding detection unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG9 shows a flow chart of a spatial encoding method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG10 shows a flowchart of another spatial encoding method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG11 shows a flow chart of a spatial decoding method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG12 shows a flowchart of another spatial decoding method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG13 shows an electronic device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0065] To make the above-mentioned objects, features, and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the specific embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description sets forth many specific details to facilitate a full understanding of the present application. However, the present application can be implemented in many other ways than those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without violating the scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0066] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may also be an element centered. When an element is considered to be "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be an element centered at the same time. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "left", "right" and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only. The described features, structures or characteristics may be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. In the following description, many specific details are provided so as to provide a full understanding of the embodiments of the present application. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the technical solutions of the present application can be practiced without one or more of these specific details, or other modes, components, materials, devices or operations, etc. may be adopted. In these cases, well-known structures, methods, devices, implementations, materials or operations will not be shown or described in detail.

[0067] The flowcharts shown in the accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only and do not necessarily include all contents and operations / steps, nor must they be executed in the order described. For example, some operations / steps may be decomposed, while others may be combined or partially combined. Therefore, the actual execution order may vary depending on the actual situation.

[0068] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of this application and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish different objects, rather than to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but optionally includes steps or units that are not listed, or optionally includes other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices. The term "and / or" or "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more relevant listed items.

[0069] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this application pertains. The terms used herein in the specification of this application are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit this application.

[0070] The specific embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0071] FIG1 shows a schematic structural diagram of a spatial coding detection unit according to an example embodiment of the present application. The spatial coding detection unit includes a scintillator 10 and a detection element 20, at least a portion of the detection element 20 is buried in the scintillator 10 according to a preset spatial coding function, and the detection element 20 is used to detect high-energy rays, visible light and / or dielectric constant. In one embodiment, spatial coding can be exemplarily understood as arranging the detection elements 20 according to a preset one-dimensional, two-dimensional or three-dimensional spatial pattern to obtain additional prior knowledge to achieve spatial resolution within the scintillator 10, and the spatial coding function is a function that implements the above process. As shown in FIG1 , the detection element 20 is arranged in the scintillator 10 according to the preset spatial coding function to achieve spatial coding of the scintillator 10. Among them, high-energy rays include x-rays, neutrons, protons, alpha particles and gamma rays.

[0072] Regarding the way in which the detection element 20 is buried in the scintillator 10, in one case, the burying can be exemplarily understood as wrapping the detection element 20 during the growth or processing of the scintillator 10, and the scintillator 10 and the detection element 20 are grown or processed as a whole. At least a part of the detection unit 20 is buried in the scintillator 10 according to a preset spatial coding function, which can be exemplarily understood as wrapping at least a part of the detection element 20 during the growth or processing of the scintillator 10; in another case, the scintillator 10 has a thinner thickness. For example, when the dimension of the scintillator 10 in the thickness direction is smaller than the dimensions in the other two directions, it can be considered that the scintillator 10 has a thinner thickness. The detection elements 20 can be set between adjacent scintillators 10 and arranged in an interlaced manner with each other, and the arrangement of the detection elements 20 in the scintillator 10 is carried out according to the preset spatial coding function. The array formed by the scintillator 10 and the detection element 20 constitutes a detection unit. This situation is also a feasible way for the scintillator 10 to ambush the detection element 20. The above two methods are significantly different from the existing structural method of coupling the scintillator with the photoelectric device. The structural form of the spatial coding detection unit of the present application can accurately obtain the deposition position of the high-energy rays in the scintillator 10, which is not achievable by the existing detection unit.

[0073] In addition, in the present application, the package area of ​​the detection device 20 can be selected as needed. In some examples, the package area is related to the spatial resolution capability.

[0074] The scintillator 10 includes an inorganic scintillator crystal, a plastic scintillator, or a Cherenkov scintillator. The inorganic scintillator crystal includes LYSO, YSO, LSO, BGO, or NaI. The scintillator 10 may be in the shape of a cuboid, a cube, a triangular prism, a pentagonal prism, a hexagonal prism, a cylinder, a sphere, an ellipsoid, or an irregular shape.

[0075] Compared with the existing conventional method of coupling photoelectric devices to one or both ends of the scintillator 10, the spatial coding detection unit provided by the present application has at least the following advantages: First, when performing imaging detection, high-energy rays are incident into the scintillator 10. Since the detection element 20 is directly buried in the scintillator 10 and can directly detect part of the high-energy rays, the transmission process of the visible light signal in the scintillator 10 is omitted, the signal loss and distortion in this process is avoided, and the deterioration of the time resolution caused by the transmission process in the scintillator 10 is reduced, thereby obtaining a higher time resolution; second, the high-energy rays can be converted into visible light by the scintillator 10, and then detected by the detection element 20 buried in the scintillator 10. This step greatly reduces the visible light signal in the scintillator 10. transmission process, and finally more accurate energy information can be obtained through signal processing by the readout circuit and the host computer; thirdly, in terms of electrical principles, when high-energy particles interact with the scintillator 10, not only will visible light such as scintillation light and Cherenkov light be generated, but also changes in the local dielectric constant of the scintillator 10 will be caused. Since the detection element 20 can obtain the dielectric constant, the time resolution can be further improved; fourthly, since the detection element 20 is buried in the scintillator 10 in a manner that meets the preset spatial coding function, the deposition position of the high-energy ray in the scintillator 10 can be accurately located through the spatial coding function of the detection element 20, and the response line constructed based on this deposition position has a higher degree of consistency with the actual response line, so that the deposition position information of the high-energy ray can be obtained more accurately. That is to say, the spatial coding detection unit provided in the present application can simultaneously detect the signal of the high-energy ray itself, the scintillation light signal generated by the high-energy ray, and the dielectric constant signal caused by the high-energy ray, thereby achieving the simultaneous acquisition of high time resolution signals and high energy resolution signals. Furthermore, the use of spatial coding can more accurately obtain the deposition position of the high-energy ray in the scintillator 10, thereby improving the final imaging quality.

[0076] High-energy radiation signals, scintillation light signals, and dielectric constant change signals are all pulse signals, differing in their pulse width / decay time and waveform. The pulse width / decay time and waveform are calculated on a host computer using the digitized readout signals, and the three signals are distinguished using classification methods. For each signal, the arrival time of the scintillation light is determined using methods such as Leading Edge Discrimination (LED) and Constant-Fraction Discriminator (CFD). The energy of the high-energy radiation is determined using numerical integration methods or function fitting, such as linear-exponential and bi-exponential fitting models.

[0077] It should be noted that when the scintillator 10 is a Cherenkov scintillator, the light pulse generated by the Cherenkov scintillator has a shorter pulse width and a faster rising edge than the light pulse generated by an inorganic scintillating crystal, and thus has a better time resolution.

[0078] As shown in FIG2 , it is assumed that the spatially encoded detection unit is a rectangular parallelepiped structure, wherein the direction indicated by the x-axis is the thickness direction of the scintillator 10, the direction indicated by the y-axis is the tangential direction of the scintillator 10, the direction indicated by the z-axis is the depth direction of the scintillator 10, and the top is the light-receiving surface 11 of the scintillator 10. When the spatially encoded detection unit shown in FIG1 is also a rectangular parallelepiped structure, it represents the surface of the detection unit parallel to the xz plane shown in FIG2 . It should be noted that, in general, the scintillator 10 is transparent, so the structure shown in FIG1 can be a perspective structure or a cross-sectional structure, which does not affect the understanding of the structural scheme shown in FIG1 .

[0079] In a specific example, assume that the scintillator 10 is a rectangular parallelepiped structure as shown in FIG. 2 , with a depth of A cm, where A is, for example, 20. According to a preset spatial coding function, a detector element 20 is placed every B cm in the depth direction of the scintillator 10, where B is, for example, 5. The detector elements 20 are coded as 1, 2, 3, ..., k, with depths of 1B cm, 2B cm, 3B cm, ..., kB cm, where kB is less than A. For example, when high-energy radiation enters the scintillator 10, it is scattered to form several scintillation lights, any of which may be captured by the detector element 20. The first captured scintillation light represents the arrival time of the high-energy radiation, and the sum of the energies of all scintillation lights represents the energy of the high-energy radiation. According to a predetermined decoding rule, for example, when the signal strength of the i-th detector element 20 is the highest, the location of the detector element 20 is determined as the deposition location of the high-energy radiation in the scintillator 10, and its deposition depth is iB cm.

[0080] According to some embodiments of the present application, the pulse signal output by the detection element 20 is sampled using a multi-voltage threshold (MVT) sampling method or through tools such as an oscilloscope and an analog-to-digital converter to obtain information about high-energy rays, such as energy information and time information.

[0081] Those skilled in the art should note that, in the embodiment of FIG. 1 , the denser the arrangement of the detection elements 20 is, the more conducive it is to improving the performance of the detection unit, but it also increases the process cost and difficulty.

[0082] Specifically, as an example only, the preset spatial coding function includes a one-dimensional spatial function, a two-dimensional spatial function, or a three-dimensional spatial function.

[0083] Preferably, in one example of the present application, the detection element 20 is made of superconducting nanowires. Superconducting nanowires (SN) refer to linear superconductors with nanometer-scale cross-sections. They may be made of metals or compounds containing metal elements, and exhibit superconductivity (resistivity is 0) and superconducting diamagnetism at low temperatures. The material of the superconducting nanowires used in this application includes at least one of titanium niobium nitride (NbTiN), niobium nitride (NbN), silicon niobium nitride (NbSiN), rhenium niobium nitride (NbReN) and tungsten silicon (WSi).

[0084] The photoelectric converters used in existing detection units or detectors typically utilize electronic circuits with resistance. This resistance causes attenuation and distortion of the electrical signal, which can lead to degradation of time and energy resolution. This application utilizes SN, which exhibits zero resistance at low temperatures, to minimize degradation of time and energy resolution caused by electrical signal variations.

[0085] Exemplarily, one or more superconducting nanowires (SN wires) are parallel or twisted into a superconducting nanobundle 21 (SN bundle 21), and an SN bundle 21 is bent in a preset bending manner to form a superconducting nanosurface 22 (SN surface 22), and at least one SN surface 22 constitutes an SN block, and the SN surfaces 22 belonging to the same SN block are connected in sequence. As shown in Figure 3, each SN block is separately connected to a readout circuit 30, that is, the SN block is connected to the readout circuit 30 in a one-to-one correspondence. At least two SN blocks arranged according to a preset spatial coding function form a layered coding element or a mesh coding element. By sequentially connecting the SN surfaces 22 belonging to the same SN block, barrier-free transmission of signals within a single SN block can be achieved.

[0086] For example, the detection element 20 within the same scintillator 10 may include multiple SN blocks.

[0087] For example, the SN surface 22 is generally a plane, but may also be a sphere, an ellipsoid, an irregular plane, etc. Those skilled in the art should note that in this application, "plane" means that the plane where the main body of the SN bundle is located after being bent is approximately a plane. In fact, the plane is limited in physical space, and gaps may exist between adjacent bundles after the SN bundle is bent, as long as the main body after being bent is approximately a plane.

[0088] For example, the preset bending pattern is a serpentine arrangement. As shown in FIG4 , in one specific example, the SN bundle 21 makes a 90-degree bend within the same plane every a micrometers, then another 90-degree bend after b micrometers, then another 90-degree bend after a micrometers, and so on, repeating this process n times to form the SN plane 22. The distances between each bend segment in the SN bundle 21 can be the same or different.

[0089] Among them, a is any value between 100 and 1000, b is any value between 5 and 50, and n is any value between 5 and 50. Due to space limitations, they are not listed here in detail.

[0090] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the preset bending method is not limited to the method described above, but may also be other methods that can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work, and these methods all fall within the scope of protection of this application.

[0091] There are also various ways to form an SN block with SN planes 22. In the embodiment shown in FIG5 , the SN block is formed by stacking m layers of SN planes 22 in parallel, with a distance of c microns between each layer. SN planes 22 in the same SN block are connected sequentially. Here, m is any value from 1 to 10, and c is any value from 10 to 100 microns. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, in the above-described manner, the SN planes 22 may not be parallel, and the distances between the SN planes 22 forming the same SN block may be the same or different.

[0092] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the manner in which the SN surface 22 forms an SN block is not limited to the above-described manner. In the embodiment shown in FIG6 , the large-area SN surface 22 is formed into an SN block by multiple 180° folds in a perpendicular reference direction. It will be appreciated that the aforementioned folding angles can be selected as needed.

[0093] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 , the SN surface 22 is formed into a SN block in a rectangular parallelepiped / cube shape by multiple 90° folds. It is understandable that the above-mentioned bending angles can also be selected as needed.

[0094] Among them, the thickness of the SN block is less than 1 mm. Those skilled in the art can understand that the thickness of the SN block can be any value less than 1 mm. Exemplarily, the thickness of the SN block refers to the total thickness after the SN surfaces are stacked. For example, the dimension in the vertical direction in Figure 5 can represent the thickness of the SN block.

[0095] For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG1 , in the scintillator 10, k SN blocks are arranged in parallel and layered to form a layered coding element (encoded using a one-dimensional spatial coding function), separated by a distance of d mm. Here, k is any value from 1 to 20. It is understood that the size of k is related to the depth of the scintillator 10 (the depth direction here is the same as the depth direction shown in FIG2 ), and d is any value from 1 to 10. Of course, it is understood that the distances between the SN blocks constituting the same layered coding element can be the same or different, and similarly, the SN blocks constituting the same layered coding element can be parallel or non-parallel.

[0096] In the scintillator 10 , the detection elements 20 may be coded in a layered manner or a meshed manner (using a two-dimensional or three-dimensional spatial coding function for coding).

[0097] Specifically, the mesh coding element is formed by interlacing at least two layers of layered coding elements at a predetermined angle. In the embodiment shown in Figure 8, the mesh coding element is formed by interlacing two layers of layered coding elements at a 90-degree angle. That is, a layer of layered coding elements is added perpendicularly to a layer of layered coding elements. For example, one layer of layered coding elements is arranged in the depth direction as shown in Figure 2, and another layer of layered coding elements is arranged in the thickness direction as shown in Figure 2. The relationship between the SN blocks within one layer of layered coding elements can be the same as that of the layered coding elements encoded using a one-dimensional spatial coding function. The distance between the SN blocks in the other layer of layered coding elements is e millimeters, and the number of layers is i. Here, e is any value between 1 and 10, and i is any value between 1 and 20. It is understood that the size of i is related to the thickness of the scintillator 10. Of course, the spacing between the SN blocks in the two layers of layered coding elements can be the same or different, the number of SN blocks included can be the same or different, and the SN blocks in each layer can be parallel or non-parallel.

[0098] Specifically, the mesh coding element can also be formed by interlacing three layers of layered coding elements at 90° angles, i.e., on top of two layers of layered coding elements, an additional layer of layered coding elements is added in a direction perpendicular to both layers (the tangential direction of the scintillator 10). For example, the first layer of layered coding elements is arranged in the depth direction shown in FIG2 , the second layer of layered coding elements is arranged in the thickness direction shown in FIG2 , and the third layer of layered coding elements is arranged in the tangential direction shown in FIG2 . It is understood that when the detection elements 20 are embedded in the scintillator 10 in a layered coding manner, spatial resolution in the depth direction of the scintillator 10 can be achieved. When the detection elements 20 are embedded in the scintillator 10 in a two-layer layered coding manner (mesh coding), spatial resolution in both the depth and thickness directions of the scintillator 10 can be achieved. When the detection elements 20 are embedded in the scintillator 10 in a three-layer layered coding manner (mesh coding), spatial resolution in the depth, thickness, and tangential directions of the scintillator 10 can be achieved.

[0099] Among them, the distances between the SN blocks in the same layered coding element are the same or different. It should be noted that arranging the SN blocks in the same layered coding element with the same distance interval is not only beneficial to the production and manufacturing of the detection unit, but also simplifies the calculation in the subsequent graphics process. However, it is not as flexible as arranging the SN blocks in the same layered coding element with different distance intervals. When arranging the SN blocks in the same layered coding element with different distance intervals, a specific arrangement method can be selected based on prior experience. For example, according to the role played by each detection unit at different positions in the detection device in the detection process, or the role played by each point in each detection unit in the detection process, a specific arrangement method can be set, thereby achieving a reasonable arrangement of the SN blocks to further improve the imaging accuracy.

[0100] In addition, it should be noted that when the distance between SN blocks in the same layered coding element is smaller, the imaging accuracy is higher, but at the same time the preparation cost of the detection unit also increases.

[0101] It is important to note that when using a two-dimensional or three-dimensional spatial coding function to spatially encode SN blocks within the scintillator 10, the angle between the two layers of layered coding elements is preferably 90°. In this case, the performance of each position in the scintillator 10 is relatively uniform, decoding difficulty is reduced, and manufacturing is also relatively easy. Of course, it is understood that the angle between the two layers of layered coding elements can be any value between 0 and 90°.

[0102] Furthermore, in the spatial coding detection unit provided in the present application, only layered coding elements arranged using one-dimensional spatial functions can be set in the scintillator 10, or mesh coding elements (including two-layer layered coding elements) arranged in a cross- or non-cross-pattern using a two-dimensional spatial function can be set, and mesh coding elements (including three-layer layered coding elements) arranged in a cross- or non-cross-pattern using a three-dimensional spatial function can also be set.

[0103] Furthermore, in the spatial coding detection unit provided by the present application, two or more groups of layered coding elements arranged using the same or different one-dimensional spatial functions can be set in the scintillator 10, or two or more groups of mesh coding elements (including two or more two-layer layered coding elements) using the same or different two-dimensional spatial functions for cross-or non-cross-arrangement can be set, and two or more groups of mesh coding elements (including two or more three-layer layered coding elements) using the same or different three-dimensional spatial functions for cross-or non-cross-arrangement can be set.

[0104] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the sizes, shapes, structures and materials of different SN blocks embedded in the same scintillator 10 may be the same or different.

[0105] Corresponding to the above-mentioned spatial coding detection unit, the present application also provides a spatial coding detector, which includes at least one spatial coding detection unit provided by any of the above examples. The spatial coding detection units are distributed in an array to form a spatial coding detector, and the detection elements in different spatial coding detection units are set according to the same or different spatial coding functions.

[0106] It is understandable that a shielding layer can be set between adjacent spatial coding detection units, and the material of the shielding layer can be selected as needed. Any shielding layer that can achieve visible light signal shielding can be applied to this application. Of course, it is also understandable that in addition to setting a shielding layer between adjacent spatial coding detection units, a shielding layer can also be set on the outer surface of a single spatial coding detection unit. In other words, the specific setting method of the shielding layer can be adjusted as needed, as long as it can achieve visible light signal shielding, and is not limited to the above two methods.

[0107] The spatially coded detector provided in this application can be applied to scenarios such as positron emission tomography, single photon emission tomography, petroleum neutron logging, high-energy physics and space physics detection.

[0108] Compared with the existing traditional method of coupling photoelectric devices to one or both ends of the scintillator, the spatial encoding detector provided by the present application has at least the following advantages: First, when performing imaging detection, high-energy rays are incident on the scintillator. Since the detection element is directly buried in the scintillator and can directly detect part of the high-energy rays, the transmission process of the visible light signal in the scintillator is omitted, the signal loss and distortion in this process is avoided, and the deterioration of the time resolution caused by the transport process in the scintillator is reduced, thereby obtaining a higher time resolution; Second, the high-energy rays can be converted into visible light by the scintillator, and then detected by the detection element buried in the scintillator. This step greatly reduces the transmission of the visible light signal in the scintillator. process, and finally, more accurate energy information can be obtained by processing the signal through the readout circuit and the host computer; thirdly, in terms of electrical principles, when high-energy particles interact with scintillators, not only will visible light such as scintillation light and Cherenkov light be generated, but also changes in the local dielectric constant of the scintillator will be caused. Since the detection element can obtain the dielectric constant, the time resolution can be further improved; fourthly, since the detection element is buried in the scintillator in a manner that satisfies the preset spatial coding function, the deposition position of the high-energy ray in the scintillator can be accurately located through the spatial coding function of the detection element. The response line constructed based on this deposition position has a higher degree of consistency with the actual response line, so that the deposition position information of the high-energy ray can be obtained more accurately. In other words, the spatial coding detector provided by the present application can simultaneously detect the signal of the high-energy ray itself, the scintillation light signal generated by the high-energy ray, and the dielectric constant signal caused by the high-energy ray, so as to achieve the simultaneous acquisition of high-time resolution signals and high-energy resolution signals. Furthermore, the spatial coding method can more accurately obtain the deposition position of the high-energy ray in the scintillator, thereby improving the final imaging quality.

[0109] Corresponding to the above-mentioned spatial coding detector, the present application also provides a spatial coding detection device, which generally includes the spatial coding detector provided by any one of the above examples, and may also include a readout circuit, which is connected to the detection element. Preferably, the readout circuit and the detection element are connected one-to-one to more accurately locate the deposition position of high-energy rays in the scintillator.

[0110] Specifically, in one example of the present application, the spatial coding detection device also includes a detection ring, and the spatial coding detector is arranged in the detection ring. Taking a PET device as an example, 48 spatial coding detectors are arranged in the detection ring, and the operating temperature of the detection ring is less than 10K, where K represents the thermodynamic temperature scale or the absolute temperature scale, and 0K = -273.15°C. Among them, the detection ring as a whole is an insulation cavity, and data is transmitted from the detection ring through the bus and input into the computer for processing. The various detectors are also arranged in a ring shape, and the detection elements, such as SN blocks, are buried in the scintillator. The present application is based on superconducting electronics at extremely low temperatures (less than 10K), the electronic noise is reduced to a minimum, and the time resolution is better than any normal temperature device.

[0111] In addition, compared with the traditional detector that uses a photoelectric device coupled to one end of the scintillator, the spatial coding detection device provided by the present application can simultaneously detect the signal of the high-energy ray itself, the scintillation light signal generated by the high-energy ray, and the dielectric constant signal caused by the high-energy ray, thereby achieving the simultaneous acquisition of high-time resolution signals and high-energy resolution signals. Furthermore, the use of spatial coding can more accurately obtain the deposition position of the high-energy ray in the scintillator, thereby improving the final imaging quality.

[0112] Corresponding to the above-mentioned spatial coding detection unit, the present application also provides a spatial coding method. As shown in FIG9 , the spatial coding method provided by the present application generally includes the following steps:

[0113] S10: embedding at least a portion of detection elements in the scintillator according to a preset spatial coding function, wherein the detection elements detect high-energy rays, visible light and / or dielectric constant.

[0114] Among them, ambush can be understood as a way of wrapping the detection element in the scintillator during its growth or processing, and spatial coding can be understood as a way of arranging the detection elements according to a preset one-dimensional, two-dimensional or three-dimensional spatial pattern to obtain additional prior knowledge to achieve spatial resolution within the scintillator. The spatial coding function is the function that realizes the above process; high-energy rays include x-rays, neutrons, protons, alpha particles and gamma rays, etc.

[0115] Scintillators include inorganic scintillating crystals, plastic scintillators, or Cherenkov scintillators. Inorganic scintillating crystals include LYSO, YSO, LSO, BGO, or NaI. Scintillators can be rectangular, cube, triangular, pentagonal, hexagonal, cylindrical, spherical, ellipsoidal, or irregular shapes.

[0116] Regarding the way in which the detection elements are buried in the scintillator, in one case, the burial can be exemplarily understood as wrapping the detection elements during the growth or processing of the scintillator, the scintillator and the detection elements are grown or processed as a whole, and at least a portion of the detection units are buried in the scintillator according to a preset spatial coding function. This can be exemplarily understood as wrapping at least a portion of the detection elements during the growth or processing of the scintillator; in another case, the scintillator has a relatively thin thickness, and the detection elements can be set between adjacent scintillators, arranged in an interlaced manner, and the arrangement of the detection elements in the scintillator is carried out according to a preset spatial coding function. The array formed by the scintillator and the detection elements constitutes a detection unit. This situation is also a feasible way to bury the detection elements in the scintillator. The above two methods are very different from the existing structural methods of coupling scintillators with photoelectric devices. The structural form of the spatial coding detection unit of the present application can accurately obtain the deposition position of high-energy rays in the scintillator, which is not achievable by existing detection units.

[0117] In addition, in the present application, the package area of ​​the detection element can be selected as needed. In some examples, the package area is related to the spatial resolution capability.

[0118] Compared with the conventional method of coupling photoelectric devices to one or both ends of a scintillator, the spatial encoding method provided by the present application, in which the detection element is embedded in the scintillator using a preset spatial encoding function, has at least the following advantages: First, during imaging detection, high-energy rays are incident on the scintillator. Since the detection element is directly embedded in the scintillator and can directly detect part of the high-energy rays, the transmission process of the visible light signal in the scintillator is omitted, the signal loss and distortion in this process is avoided, and the deterioration of the time resolution caused by the transmission process in the scintillator is reduced, thereby obtaining a higher time resolution; Second, the high-energy rays are converted into visible light by the scintillator. Then it is detected by the detection element buried in the scintillator. This step greatly reduces the transmission process of the visible light signal in the scintillator. Finally, after the signal is processed by the readout circuit and the host computer, more accurate energy information can be obtained; thirdly, because the detection element can obtain the dielectric constant, the time resolution can be further improved; fourthly, because the detection element is buried in the scintillator in a way that meets the preset spatial coding function, the deposition position of the high-energy ray in the scintillator can be accurately located through the spatial coding function of the detection element. The response line constructed based on this deposition position has a higher degree of consistency with the actual response line, so that the deposition position information of the high-energy ray can be obtained more accurately. In other words, the spatial coding method provided by the present application can simultaneously detect the signal of the high-energy ray itself, the scintillation light signal generated by the high-energy ray, and the dielectric constant signal caused by the high-energy ray, so as to achieve the simultaneous acquisition of high-time resolution signal and high-energy resolution signal. Furthermore, the spatial coding method can more accurately obtain the deposition position of the high-energy ray in the scintillator, thereby improving the final imaging quality.

[0119] It should be noted that when the scintillator is a Cherenkov scintillator, the light pulse generated by the Cherenkov scintillator has a shorter pulse width and a faster rising edge than the light pulse generated by an inorganic scintillating crystal, so the time resolution is better.

[0120] Specifically, as an example only, the preset spatial coding function includes a one-dimensional spatial function, a two-dimensional spatial function, or a three-dimensional spatial function. As shown in FIG10 , the above step S10 includes:

[0121] S11: embedding at least a portion of the detection elements in the scintillator according to a one-dimensional spatial function, a two-dimensional spatial function, or a three-dimensional spatial function.

[0122] As shown in FIG2 , it is assumed that the spatially encoded detection unit is a rectangular parallelepiped structure, wherein the direction indicated by the x-axis is the thickness direction of the scintillator 10, the direction indicated by the y-axis is the tangent direction of the scintillator 10, the direction indicated by the z-axis is the depth direction of the scintillator 10, and the top is the light-receiving surface 11 of the scintillator 10. When the spatially encoded detection unit shown in FIG1 is also a rectangular parallelepiped structure, it represents the surface of the detection element parallel to the xz plane shown in FIG2 . It should be noted that, in general, the scintillator 10 is transparent, so the structure shown in FIG1 can be a perspective structure or a cross-section, which does not affect the understanding of the structural scheme shown in FIG1 .

[0123] More specifically, in one example of the present application, it is assumed that the scintillator is a rectangular parallelepiped structure as shown in FIG2 , and its depth is A cm, where A is, for example, 20. According to a preset spatial coding function, a detection element is placed every B cm in the depth direction of the scintillator, where B is, for example, 5. The detection elements are coded as 1, 2, 3, ..., k, and the depths are 1Bcm, 2Bcm, 3Bcm, ..., kBcm, where kB is less than A. For example, when high-energy radiation enters the scintillator, it is scattered to form several scintillation lights, any of which may be captured by a detection element. The first captured scintillation light represents the arrival time of the high-energy radiation, and the sum of the energies of all scintillation lights can represent the energy of the high-energy radiation. According to a predetermined decoding rule, for example, when the signal strength of the i-th detection element is the maximum, the location of the detection element is determined as the deposition location of the high-energy radiation in the scintillator, and its deposition depth is iBcm.

[0124] High-energy radiation signals, scintillation light signals, and dielectric constant change signals are all pulse signals, differing in their pulse width / decay time and waveform. The pulse width / decay time and waveform are calculated on a host computer using the digitized readout signals, and the three signals are distinguished using classification methods. For each signal, the arrival time of the scintillation light is determined using methods such as Leading Edge Discrimination (LED) and Constant-Fraction Discriminator (CFD). The energy of the high-energy radiation is determined using numerical integration methods or function fitting, such as linear-exponential and double-exponential fitting models.

[0125] According to some embodiments of the present application, a multi-voltage threshold (MVT) sampling method, or tools such as an oscilloscope or an analog-to-digital converter are used to sample the pulse signal output by the detection element to obtain information about high-energy rays, such as the energy information and time information of the rays.

[0126] Those skilled in the art should note that the denser the arrangement of the detection elements, the more conducive it is to improving the performance of the detection unit, but it also increases the process cost and difficulty.

[0127] Preferably, in one example of the present application, the detection element is made of superconducting nanowires. Superconducting nanowires (SN) refer to linear superconductors with nanoscale cross-sections, which may be made of metals or compounds containing metal elements. At low temperatures (less than 10K), they exhibit superconductivity (resistivity is 0) and superconducting diamagnetism. The material of the superconducting nanowires used in this application includes at least one of titanium niobium nitride (NbTiN), niobium nitride (NbN), silicon niobium nitride (NbSiN), rhenium niobium nitride (NbReN) and tungsten silicon (WSi).

[0128] The photoelectric converters used in existing detection units or detectors typically utilize electronic circuits with resistance. This resistance causes attenuation and distortion of the electrical signal, which can lead to degradation of time and energy resolution. This application utilizes SN, which exhibits zero resistance at low temperatures, to minimize degradation of time and energy resolution caused by electrical signal variations.

[0129] Exemplarily, one or more superconducting nanowires (SN wires) are parallel or twisted into a superconducting nanobundle 21 (SN bundle 21), and an SN bundle 21 is bent in a preset bending manner to form a superconducting nanosurface 22 (SN surface 22), and at least one SN surface 22 constitutes an SN block, and the SN surfaces 22 belonging to the same SN block are connected in sequence. As shown in Figure 3, each SN block is separately connected to a readout circuit 30, that is, the SN block is connected to the readout circuit 30 in a one-to-one correspondence. At least two SN blocks arranged according to a preset spatial coding function form a layered coding element or a mesh coding element. By sequentially connecting the SN surfaces 22 belonging to the same SN block, barrier-free transmission of signals within a single SN block can be achieved.

[0130] For example, the detection element 20 within the same scintillator 10 may include multiple SN blocks.

[0131] For example, the SN surface 22 is generally a plane, but may also be a sphere, an ellipsoid, an irregular plane, etc. Those skilled in the art should note that in this application, "plane" means that the plane where the main body of the SN bundle is located after being bent is approximately a plane. In fact, the plane is limited in physical space, and gaps may exist between adjacent bundles after the SN bundle is bent, as long as the main body after being bent is approximately a plane.

[0132] For example, the preset bending pattern is a serpentine arrangement. As shown in FIG4 , in one specific example, the SN bundle 21 makes a 90-degree bend within the same plane every a micrometers, then another 90-degree bend after b micrometers, then another 90-degree bend after a micrometers, and so on, repeating this process n times to form the SN plane 22. The distances between each bend segment in the SN bundle 21 can be the same or different.

[0133] Among them, a is any value between 100 and 1000, b is any value between 5 and 50, and n is any value between 5 and 50. Due to space limitations, they are not listed here in detail.

[0134] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the preset bending method is not limited to the method described above, but may also be other methods that can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work, and these methods all fall within the scope of protection of this application.

[0135] For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG5 , SN planes 22 form an SN block by stacking m layers of SN planes 22 in parallel, with a distance of c microns between each layer. SN planes 22 within the same SN block are sequentially connected. Here, m is a value between 1 and 10, and c is a value between 10 and 100 microns. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, in this embodiment, the SN planes 22 may not be parallel, and the distances between the SN planes 22 forming the same SN block may be the same or different.

[0136] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the manner in which the SN plane 22 forms an SN block is not limited to the manner described above. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG6 , a large-area SN plane 22 may be formed into an SN block by multiple 180° folds in a direction perpendicular to the SN plane 22 . It will be appreciated that the aforementioned folding angles may be selected as needed. For another example, in the embodiment shown in FIG7 , the SN plane 22 may be formed into a rectangular parallelepiped / cube by multiple 90° folds. It will be appreciated that the aforementioned folding angles may also be selected as needed.

[0137] The thickness of the SN block is less than 1 mm. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the thickness of the SN block can be any value less than 1 mm.

[0138] For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG1 , in the scintillator 10, k SN blocks are arranged in parallel layers to form a layered coding element (encoded using a one-dimensional spatial coding function), with a distance of d mm between them. Here, k is any value from 1 to 20. It is understood that the size of k is related to the depth of the scintillator 10 (the depth direction here is the same as the depth direction shown in FIG2 ), and d is any value from 1 to 10. Of course, it is understood that the distances between the SN blocks constituting the same layered coding element can be the same or different. Similarly, the SN blocks constituting the same layered coding element can also be parallel or non-parallel.

[0139] In the scintillator 10 , the detection elements 20 may be coded in a layered manner or a meshed manner (using a two-dimensional or three-dimensional spatial coding function for coding).

[0140] Specifically, the mesh coding element is formed by crossing at least two layers of layered coding elements at a preset angle. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG8 , the mesh coding element is formed by crossing two layers of layered coding elements at 90°. That is, on the basis of a layer of layered coding elements, another layer of layered coding elements is added in the perpendicular direction thereof. For example, one layer of layered coding elements is arranged in the depth direction as shown in FIG2 , and another layer of layered coding elements is arranged in the thickness direction as shown in FIG2 . The relationship between the SN blocks within one layer of layered coding elements can be the same as that of the layered coding elements encoded using a one-dimensional spatial coding function described above. The distance between the SN blocks in the other layer of layered coding elements is e millimeters, and the number of layers is i. Wherein, e is any value between 1 and 10, and i is any value between 1 and 20. It can be understood that the size of i is related to the thickness of the scintillator 10.

[0141] For example, the mesh coding element can also be formed by crossing three layers of layered coding elements at 90° angles in pairs. That is, on the basis of two layers of layered coding elements, another layer of layered coding elements is added in a direction perpendicular to the two layers. For example, the first layer of layered coding elements is arranged in the depth direction shown in FIG2 , the second layer of layered coding elements is arranged in the thickness direction shown in FIG2 , and the third layer of layered coding elements is arranged in the tangential direction shown in FIG2 . It can be understood that when the detection element 20 is embedded in the scintillator 10 in a layered coding manner, spatial resolution in the depth direction of the scintillator 10 can be achieved. When the detection element 20 is embedded in the scintillator 10 in a two-layer layered coding manner (mesh coding), spatial resolution in both the depth direction and the thickness direction of the scintillator 10 can be achieved. When the detection element 20 is embedded in the scintillator 10 in a three-layer layered coding manner (mesh coding), spatial resolution in the depth direction, thickness direction, and tangential direction of the scintillator 10 can be achieved.

[0142] Among them, the distances between the SN blocks constituting the same layered coding element are the same or different. It should be noted that arranging the SN blocks within the same layered coding element at the same distance interval is not only beneficial to the production and manufacturing of the detection unit, but also simplifies the calculation in the subsequent graphics process. However, it is less flexible than arranging the SN blocks within the same layered coding element at different distance intervals. When arranging the SN blocks within the same layered coding element at different distance intervals, a specific arrangement method can be selected based on prior experience. For example, according to the role played by each detection unit at different positions in the detection device during the detection process, or the role played by each point in each detection unit during the detection process, a specific arrangement method can be set, thereby achieving a reasonable arrangement of the SN blocks to further improve imaging accuracy.

[0143] In addition, it should be noted that when the distance between SN blocks in the same layered coding element is smaller, the imaging accuracy is higher, but at the same time the preparation cost of the detection unit also increases.

[0144] It is important to note that when using a two-dimensional or three-dimensional spatial coding function to spatially encode SN blocks within the scintillator 10, the angle between the two layers of layered coding elements is preferably 90°. In this case, the performance of each position in the scintillator 10 is relatively uniform, decoding difficulty is reduced, and manufacturing is also relatively easy. Of course, it is understood that the angle between the two layers of layered coding elements can be any value between 0 and 90°.

[0145] It should be noted that during the process of embedding the SN block within the scintillator 10, the scintillator 10 can also serve as a substrate for the SN block, providing support for the SN block. During the fabrication process, the SN blocks can be first arranged according to a preset spatial coding function. Since the SN bundle 21 itself has a certain degree of rigidity, it can be self-supporting during the fabrication process. The scintillator 10 can then be fabricated on the SN block by growing or processing it, thereby embedding the SN block within the scintillator 10.

[0146] Furthermore, in the spatial coding detection unit provided in the present application, only layered coding elements arranged using one-dimensional spatial functions can be set in the scintillator 10, or mesh coding elements (including two-layer layered coding elements) arranged in a cross- or non-cross-pattern using a two-dimensional spatial function can be set, and mesh coding elements (including three-layer layered coding elements) arranged in a cross- or non-cross-pattern using a three-dimensional spatial function can also be set.

[0147] Furthermore, in the spatial coding detection unit provided by the present application, two or more groups of layered coding elements arranged using the same or different one-dimensional spatial functions can be set in the scintillator 10, or two or more groups of mesh coding elements (including two or more two-layer layered coding elements) using the same or different two-dimensional spatial functions for cross-or non-cross-arrangement can be set, and two or more groups of mesh coding elements (including two or more three-layer layered coding elements) using the same or different three-dimensional spatial functions for cross-or non-cross-arrangement can be set.

[0148] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the sizes, shapes, structures and materials of different SN blocks embedded in the same scintillator 10 may be the same or different.

[0149] Corresponding to the above-mentioned spatial coding method, the present application also provides a spatial coding device, which generally includes a coding unit for embedding a detection element in a scintillator according to a preset spatial coding function, wherein the detection element detects high-energy rays, visible light and / or dielectric constant.

[0150] It should be noted that for other features of the spatial encoding device provided in this application, reference can be made to the above-mentioned spatial encoding method, which will not be described in detail here. Similarly, those skilled in the art will understand that the technical effects achieved by the spatial encoding device provided in this application correspond to those achieved by the above-mentioned spatial encoding method.

[0151] Corresponding to the above-mentioned spatial encoding device and spatial encoding method, the present application also provides a spatial decoding method. As shown in FIG11 , the spatial decoding method provided by the present application generally includes the following steps:

[0152] S20: Acquire the signal strength generated by the detection element, where the signal strength includes the signal strength corresponding to high-energy rays, visible light, and / or dielectric constant;

[0153] S30: Determine the deposition position of the high-energy ray in the scintillator according to a preset spatial coding function and signal intensity.

[0154] The preset spatial encoding function can be a one-dimensional, two-dimensional, or three-dimensional spatial function. That is, in this application, the detection elements are pre-embedded in the scintillator according to the preset spatial encoding function. For example, during decoding, a corresponding spatial decoding function can be derived based on the preset spatial encoding function, thereby determining the deposition location of high-energy radiation within the scintillator based on the spatial decoding function and signal intensity.

[0155] The signal strength may be energy or peak value, or may be signal arrival time, voltage, current value, etc.

[0156] Specifically, in an example of the present application, as shown in FIG12 , the above step S30 includes:

[0157] S31: Acquire position information of all superconducting nanoblocks in the detection element in the scintillator according to a preset spatial encoding function;

[0158] S32: Determine the deposition position of the high-energy ray in the scintillator based on all the position information and signal strength information.

[0159] Here, step S31 can be extended to obtain a spatial decoding function according to a preset spatial encoding function, thereby obtaining the position information of the superconducting nanoblock in the scintillator.

[0160] More specifically, the above step S32 may further include:

[0161] The position of the superconducting nanoblock with the maximum signal intensity is determined as the deposition position.

[0162] For example, in one example, assuming that the SN blocks are buried in the scintillator in a layered coding manner, in the depth direction of the scintillator, the SN blocks are arranged sequentially from bottom to top, numbered 1, 2, 3...k, and located at x1, x2, x3,..., x k In a certain event, the signal conditions generated by each SN block are A1, A2, A3, ..., A k , then the deposition depth of the event in the scintillator is the signal intensity max{A1, A2, A3, ..., A k}The position x of the SN block i , where k and i are both natural numbers.

[0163] More specifically, the above step S32 may further include:

[0164] The signal intensities of all superconducting nanoblocks are used as weights, and the position information of all superconducting nanoblocks is weighted to obtain the deposition position.

[0165] For example, in one example, let the center depth of the SN block (other spatial coordinates are the same) be d1, d2, d3, ..., d n , in a certain detection, the signal strengths generated are I1, I2, I3, ..., I n , then the estimated deposition location is d * , the calculation formula is as follows: Equation 1.

[0166] It should be noted that the d obtained by the above calculation *It can be any point in the scintillator, which may be on a certain SN block or not. Compared with the previous example in which the position of the SN block with the largest signal intensity is used as the deposition depth of high-energy rays in the scintillator, this example uses weighted processing to obtain a more accurate deposition depth, which can perform super-resolution on the deposition depth.

[0167] The different signal sources—high-energy radiation, scintillation light, and dielectric constant variation—are all pulse signals, differing in their pulse width, decay time, and waveform. In subsequent data processing, the pulse width, decay time, and waveform are calculated on a host computer using the digitized readout signals, and the three types of signals are distinguished through classification methods. For each type of signal, the arrival time of the scintillation light is determined using methods such as Leading Edge Discrimination (LED) and Constant-Fraction Discriminator (CFD). The energy of the high-energy radiation is determined through numerical integration or function fitting, such as linear-exponential and double-exponential fitting models.

[0168] According to some embodiments of the present application, a multi-voltage threshold (MVT) sampling method or tools such as an oscilloscope or an analog-to-digital converter are used to sample the pulse signal output by the detection element to obtain information about high-energy rays, such as the energy information and time information of the rays.

[0169] Figure 13 shows a block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application. The electronic device shown in Figure 13 is only an example and should not bring any limitation to the functions and scope of use of the embodiment of the present application.

[0170] As shown in Figure 13, the electronic device is presented in the form of a general-purpose computing device. The components of the electronic device may include, but are not limited to, at least one processor 910, at least one memory 920, a bus 930 connecting different system components (including the memory 920 and the processor 910), a display unit 940, and the like. Among them, the memory 920 stores a program code, and the program code can be executed by the processor 910 so that the processor 910 executes the method described in this specification according to various exemplary embodiments of the present application. For example, the processor 910 can execute the method shown in Figures 8 to 11.

[0171] The memory 920 may include a readable medium in the form of a volatile memory unit, such as a random access memory unit (RAM) 9201 and / or a cache memory unit 9202 , and may further include a read-only memory unit (ROM) 9203 .

[0172] The memory 920 may also include a program / utility 9204 having a set (at least one) of program modules 9205, such program modules 9205 including but not limited to: an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data, each of which or some combination may include an implementation of a network environment.

[0173] Bus 930 may represent one or more of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, a processing unit, or a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures.

[0174] The electronic device can also communicate with one or more external devices 900 (e.g., a keyboard, a pointing device, a Bluetooth device, etc.), one or more devices that enable a user to interact with the electronic device, and / or any device that enables the electronic device to communicate with one or more other computing devices (e.g., a router, a modem, etc.). Such communication can occur via an input / output (I / O) interface 950. Furthermore, the electronic device can communicate with one or more networks (e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and / or a public network such as the Internet) via a network adapter 960. The network adapter 960 can communicate with other modules of the electronic device via a bus 930. It should be understood that, although not shown in the figures, other hardware and / or software modules can be used in conjunction with the electronic device, including but not limited to microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data backup storage systems.

[0175] Through the description of the above embodiments, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the example embodiments described here can be implemented by software or by combining software with necessary hardware. The technical solution according to the embodiment of the present application can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium (which can be a CD-ROM, a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, etc.) or on a network, and includes a number of computer program instructions to enable a computing device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform the above method according to the embodiment of the present application.

[0176] The software product can adopt any combination of one or more readable media. The readable medium can be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. The readable storage medium can be, for example, but not limited to, a system, device or component of electricity, magnetism, light, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor, or any combination thereof. More specific examples (non-exhaustive list) of readable storage media include: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0177] Computer-readable storage media may include a data signal propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, which carries readable program code. Such propagated data signals may take a variety of forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination thereof. The readable storage medium may also be any readable medium other than a readable storage medium, which may send, propagate, or transmit a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The program code contained on the readable storage medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wired, optical cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination thereof.

[0178] The program code for performing the operations of the present application can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java, C++, and the like, as well as conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as C or similar programming languages. The program code can be executed entirely on the user computing device, partially on the user device, as a standalone software package, partially on the user computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server. In the case of a remote computing device, the remote computing device can be connected to the user computing device via any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or can be connected to an external computing device (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0179] The computer-readable medium carries one or more program instructions. When the one or more program instructions are executed by a device, the computer-readable medium implements the aforementioned functions.

[0180] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the above modules can be distributed in the device as described in the embodiment, or can be modified accordingly to be used in one or more devices that are uniquely different from the embodiment. The multiple modules of the above embodiments can be combined into one module, or one module can be further divided into multiple submodules.

[0181] Through the description of the above embodiments, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the example embodiments described here can be implemented by software or by combining software with necessary hardware. The technical solution according to the embodiment of the present application can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium (which can be a CD-ROM, a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, etc.) or on a network, and includes a number of computer program instructions to enable a computing device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform the above method according to the embodiment of the present application.

[0182] The software product can adopt any combination of one or more readable media. The readable medium can be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. The readable storage medium can be, for example, but not limited to, a system, device or component of electricity, magnetism, light, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor, or any combination thereof. More specific examples (non-exhaustive list) of readable storage media include: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0183] Computer-readable storage media may include a data signal propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, which carries readable program code. Such propagated data signals may take a variety of forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination thereof. The readable storage medium may also be any readable medium other than a readable storage medium, which may send, propagate, or transmit a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The program code contained on the readable storage medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wired, optical cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination thereof.

[0184] The program code for performing the operations of the present application can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java, C++, and the like, as well as conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as C or similar programming languages. The program code can be executed entirely on the user computing device, partially on the user device, as a standalone software package, partially on the user computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server. In the case of a remote computing device, the remote computing device can be connected to the user computing device via any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or can be connected to an external computing device (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0185] The computer-readable medium carries one or more program instructions. When the one or more program instructions are executed by a device, the computer-readable medium implements the aforementioned functions.

[0186] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the above modules can be distributed in the device as described in the embodiment, or can be modified accordingly to be used in one or more devices that are uniquely different from the embodiment. The multiple modules of the above embodiments can be combined into one module, or one module can be further divided into multiple submodules.

[0187] Although the present application provides the method operation steps described in the above embodiments or flow charts, more or fewer operation steps may be included in the method based on routine or no creative work. In the steps where there is no necessary causal relationship in logic, the execution order of these steps is not limited to the execution order provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0188] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, and the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other. Each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments.

[0189] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail above. Specific examples are used herein to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present application. The description of the above embodiments is only intended to help understand the method and core ideas of the present application. At the same time, changes or modifications made by those skilled in the art based on the ideas of the present application, the specific implementation methods, and the scope of application of the present application, all fall within the scope of protection of the present application. In summary, the contents of this specification should not be construed as limiting the present application.

Claims

1. A spatial coding detection unit, characterized in that: The spatial coding detection unit comprises: Scintillator; and, Detection elements, at least a portion of which are buried in the scintillator according to a preset spatial encoding function, and the detection elements are used to detect high-energy rays, visible light and / or dielectric constants.

2. The spatial coding detection unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The preset spatial encoding function includes a one-dimensional spatial function, a two-dimensional spatial function or a three-dimensional spatial function.

3. The spatial coding detection unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The detection elements include layered coding elements or mesh coding elements, and both the layered coding elements and the mesh coding elements are arranged according to the preset spatial coding function.

4. The spatial coding detection unit according to claim 3, characterized in that: The mesh coding element is formed by at least two layers of the layered coding elements crossing at a preset angle.

5. The spatial coding detection unit according to claim 3, characterized in that: The mesh coding element is formed by two layers of layer coding elements crossing at 90 degrees.

6. The spatial coding detection unit according to claim 3, characterized in that: The mesh coding element is formed by three layers of layered coding elements that are crossed in pairs at 90 degrees.

7. The spatial coding detection unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The detection element is made of superconducting nanowires.

8. The spatial coding detection unit according to claim 7, characterized in that: The material of the superconducting nanowire includes at least one of NbTiN, NbN, NbSiN, NbReN and WSi.

9. The spatial coding detection unit according to claim 7, characterized in that: The detection element is formed as a superconducting nanoblock, and the superconducting nanoblock is formed by a superconducting nanobundle, and the superconducting nanobundle is formed by at least one superconducting nanowire.

10. The spatial coding detection unit according to claim 9, characterized in that: The superconducting nanoblock includes at least one superconducting nanosurface formed by the superconducting nanobundle in a preset bending manner, and the superconducting nanosurfaces belonging to the same superconducting nanoblock are connected in sequence.

11. The spatial coding detection unit according to claim 10, characterized in that: The distances between the superconducting nano-surfaces in the same superconducting nano-block are the same or different; and / or, The distances between the superconducting nanoblocks in the same layered coding element are the same or different.

12. The spatial coding detection unit according to claim 9, characterized in that: The thickness of the superconducting nanoblock is less than 1 mm.

13. The spatial coding detection unit according to claim 9, characterized in that: The superconducting nanoblocks are connected to the readout circuits in a one-to-one correspondence.

14. The spatial coding detection unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The scintillator includes an inorganic scintillator crystal, a plastic scintillator or a Cherenkov scintillator.

15. A spatial coding detector, characterized in that: The spatially coded detector comprises at least one spatially coded detection unit according to any one of claims 1-14.

16. The spatial encoding detector according to claim 15, characterized in that: The spatial encoding detection units are distributed in an array.

17. The spatial encoding detector according to claim 15, characterized in that: The detection elements in different spatial coding detection units are arranged according to the same or different spatial coding functions.

18. The spatial encoding detector according to claim 15, characterized in that: A shielding layer is arranged between adjacent spatial coding detection units.

19. A spatial coding method, characterized in that: The spatial encoding method comprises: At least a portion of detection elements are buried in the scintillator according to a preset spatial encoding function, and the detection elements detect high-energy rays, visible light and / or dielectric constant.

20. The spatial encoding method according to claim 19, characterized in that: The step of embedding at least a portion of the detection elements in the scintillator according to a preset spatial coding function comprises: At least a portion of the detection elements are buried in the scintillator according to a one-dimensional space function, a two-dimensional space function or a three-dimensional space function.

21. The spatial encoding method according to claim 19, characterized in that: The detection element adopts a layered coding element or a mesh coding element, and both the layered coding element and the mesh coding element are arranged according to the preset spatial coding function.

22. The spatial encoding method according to claim 21, characterized in that: The mesh coding element is formed by at least two layers of the layered coding elements crossing at a preset angle.

23. The spatial encoding method according to claim 21, characterized in that: The mesh coding element is formed by two layers of layer coding elements crossing at 90 degrees.

24. The spatial encoding method according to claim 21, characterized in that: The mesh coding element is formed by three layers of layered coding elements that are crossed in pairs at 90 degrees.

25. The spatial encoding method according to claim 19, characterized in that: The detection element is made of superconducting nanowires.

26. The spatial encoding method according to claim 25, characterized in that: The material of the superconducting nanowire includes at least one of NbTiN, NbN, NbSiN, NbReN and WSi.

27. The spatial encoding method according to claim 25, characterized in that: The detection element forms a superconducting nanoblock, the superconducting nanobundle is formed by at least one superconducting nanowire, and the superconducting nanoblock is formed by the superconducting nanobundle.

28. The spatial encoding method according to claim 27, characterized in that: A superconducting nano-surface is formed by bending at least one of the superconducting nano-beams in a preset manner, and the superconducting nano-block is formed by sequentially connecting the superconducting nano-surfaces.

29. The spatial encoding method according to claim 28, characterized in that: The distances between the superconducting nano-surfaces in the same superconducting nano-block are set to be the same or different; and / or, The distances between the superconducting nanoblocks in the same layered coding element are set to be the same or different.

30. The spatial encoding method according to claim 27, characterized in that: The thickness of the superconducting nanoblock is less than 1 mm.

31. The spatial encoding method according to claim 27, characterized in that: The superconducting nanoblocks are connected to the readout circuits in a one-to-one correspondence.

32. The spatial encoding method according to claim 19, characterized in that: The scintillator includes an inorganic scintillator crystal, a plastic scintillator or a Cherenkov scintillator.

33. A spatial encoding device, characterized in that: The spatial encoding device comprises: The coding unit is used to bury at least a part of the detection elements in the scintillator according to a preset spatial coding function, wherein the detection elements detect high-energy rays, visible light and / or dielectric constant.

34. A spatial decoding method, used in a spatial coding detector as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that: The spatial decoding method comprises: Acquiring the signal strength generated by the detection element, wherein the signal strength includes the signal strength corresponding to high-energy rays, visible light and / or dielectric constant; The deposition position of the high-energy ray in the scintillator is determined according to the preset spatial encoding function and the signal intensity.

35. The spatial decoding method according to claim 34, characterized in that: The step of determining the deposition position of the high-energy ray in the scintillator according to the preset spatial coding function and the signal intensity includes: Acquiring position information of all superconducting nanoblocks in the detection element in the scintillator according to the preset spatial encoding function; The deposition position of the high-energy ray in the scintillator is determined jointly according to all the position information and the signal strength information.

36. The spatial decoding method according to claim 35, characterized in that: The step of jointly determining the deposition position of the high-energy ray according to all the position information and the signal strength information includes: The position of the superconducting nanoblock with the maximum signal intensity is determined as the deposition position.

37. The spatial decoding method according to claim 36, characterized in that: The step of jointly determining the deposition position of the high-energy ray according to all the position information and the signal strength information includes: The signal strengths of all the superconducting nanoblocks are used as weights, and the position information of all the superconducting nanoblocks is weighted to obtain the deposition position.

38. The spatial decoding method according to claim 34, characterized in that: The signal strength includes the energy, peak value, arrival time, voltage and current values ​​of the signal.

39. A spatial coding detection device, characterized in that: The spatial encoding detection device comprises the spatial encoding detector according to any one of claims 15-18.

40. The spatial coding detection device according to claim 39, characterized in that: The spatial encoding detection device also includes a detection ring, the spatial encoding detector is arranged in the detection ring, and the operating temperature of the detection ring is less than 10K.

41. An electronic device, characterized in that: The electronic device comprises: one or more processors; A storage device for storing one or more programs; When the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the spatial encoding method described in any one of claims 19-32 or the spatial decoding method described in any one of claims 34-38.

42. A storage medium having computer program instructions stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program instructions are executed by a processor, the processor implements the spatial encoding method as described in any one of claims 19-32 or the spatial decoding method as described in any one of claims 34-38.

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