Detectors in Medicine and Biology

Abstract

The invention by Crookes at the end of the nineteenth century of a device called spinthariscope, which made use of the scintillating properties of Lead Sulfide allowed Rutherford to count α particles in an experiment, opening the way towards modern dosimetry. When at the same time Wilhelm C. Roentgen, also using a similar device, was able to record the first X-ray picture of his wife's hand 2 weeks only after the X-ray discovery, he initiated the first and fastest technology transfer between particle physics and medical imaging and the beginning of a long and common history. Since that time, physics, and particularly particle physics has contributed to a significant amount to the development of instrumentation for research, diagnosis and therapy in the biomedical area. This has been a direct consequence, one century ago, of the recognition of the role of ionizing radiation for medical imaging as well as for therapy. 20.1.1 Radiotherapy and Dosimetry The curative role of ionizing radiation for the treatment of skin cancers has been exploited in the beginning of the twentieth century through the pioneering work of some physicists and medical doctors in France and in Sweden. This activity has very much progressed with the spectacular developments in the field of accelerators,

The Core of Medical Imaging: State of the Art and Perspectives on the Detectors

“…CdWO4 and (Y,Gd)2O3:Eu scintillators achieve the best stopping power (about 2.6 mm at 140 KeV) with a short decay time (about 2 µs). CdW04 scintillators have an acceptable light yield (about 3K ph/MeV) with a small temperature dependence and are the most commonly used materials in clinical CT scanners [93].…”