Adaptive Collimator for Nuclear Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional collimators in nuclear medicine are non-adaptive, meaning their hole length, septa thickness, and dimensions cannot be adjusted, limiting the ability to vary resolution and sensitivity without replacing the entire collimator.
Innovation Solution
A variably configurable compound collimator comprising multiple parallel collimator cores that can transition between contracted and expanded configurations, allowing the gap space between cores to change, thereby adjusting the effective hole length for gamma photons, and using pins to maintain alignment and facilitate configuration changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the collimator hole length is increased to improve resolution, then resolution is improved, but sensitivity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The collimator system transitions from a static, fixed hole length design to a dynamic, adjustable hole length design. Multiple collimator cores of different lengths can be positioned at different distances from the detector, allowing the effective hole length to be dynamically adjusted based on imaging requirements, thereby resolving the trade-off between resolution and sensitivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameter of collimator hole length from a fixed value to a variable parameter. By using multiple collimator cores with different lengths and positioning them at different distances from the detector, the system can adjust the effective hole length parameter to optimize either resolution or sensitivity depending on the imaging task.
2Measurement precision
If the collimator is replaced with different dimensions to vary resolution and sensitivity, then imaging performance is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single collimator assembly with multiple cores of different lengths serves multiple functions that would otherwise require separate collimators. The system can be configured for high-resolution imaging, high-sensitivity imaging, or intermediate settings, making one device universal for different imaging scenarios and eliminating the need to replace entire collimators.
Solution Approach 2:
The collimator is segmented into multiple independent cores that can be selectively positioned or removed. This segmentation allows the system to be reconfigured by changing which cores are active and their positions, providing versatility without requiring complete replacement of the collimator structure.
3Quantity of substance
If the collimator holes are made larger to improve sensitivity, then sensitivity is improved, but resolution deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the effective hole length by changing the distance between the collimator core and the detector. Longer effective hole lengths maintain resolution while shorter effective hole lengths improve sensitivity, allowing the system to adapt to different imaging requirements without physically changing the hole dimensions.
Data Source
AI summary
Method and apparatus for varying the hole length of a parallel hole collimator, provides a variably configurable compound collimator for use in nuclear imaging. The collimator has a plurality of substantially parallel oriented collimator cores configured for transition between a contracted configuration and an expanded configuration, wherein a gap space between said collimator cores is greater in the expanded configuration than the contracted configuration. The maximum gap space is designed to prevent photons from one hole in the collimator from reaching the detector proximate an adjacent hole of the collimator.