Multiplexed Readout Boards for PET Detector Blocks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing PET systems, particularly those integrated with MRI, face challenges due to maximum size designs that are costly, large, and generate excessive heat, and existing multiplexing methods require hardware changes to the PET insert, making upgrades difficult.
Innovation Solution
Implement interblock multiplexing of detector blocks using shared Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) resources within the electronic cabinet, reducing the need for hardware changes to the PET insert, allowing for flexible multiplexing configurations post-installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If dedicated ADC systems are used for each detector block, then measurement precision and reliability are improved, but device complexity, cost, size, and heat generation increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple detector blocks share a common ADC resource through multiplexed readout boards. The patent combines signals from multiple detector blocks and processes them through shared ADC circuits, reducing the total number of ADC systems while maintaining measurement precision through proper signal management and timing synchronization.
Solution Approach 2:
The ADC system is designed to serve multiple functions by processing signals from different detector blocks at different times. The readout boards are configured to handle various detector block combinations, making the ADC resource universal and adaptable to different imaging configurations without requiring dedicated ADCs for each block.
2Measurement precision
If maximum size designs are used for PET systems, then measurement precision and reliability are improved, but device complexity, cost, and heat generation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs dynamic multiplexing configurations where readout boards can be selectively enabled or disabled based on imaging requirements. This dynamic allocation allows the system to maintain maximum imaging capability when needed while reducing active component count and system complexity during routine operations or when integrated with MRI systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The PET detector system is divided into multiple independent detector blocks that can be selectively activated. By segmenting the detector array and using shared ADC resources, the system achieves maximum imaging coverage when all blocks are active while allowing flexible reduction of active components to manage size and complexity in integrated PET-MRI systems.
3Device complexity
If intrablock multiplexing is used, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability for different configurations is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends multiplexing from the intrablock level to the interblock level by adding a temporal dimension to the readout architecture. Readout boards can be dynamically configured to multiplex signals across multiple detector blocks through time-division multiplexing, enabling flexible adaptation to different imaging configurations without increasing cable count or physical complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
Described herein is a reduced PET design that uses shared and multiplexed Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) resources in which changes to the electronic cabinet are made to allow multiplexing. Specifically, individual cables from regions of detector blocks that geometrically cannot be in coincidence with each other are muxed together at the ADC chip.