OpenPET: A flexible electronics system for radiotracer imaging

Abstract

We present the design for OpenPET, an electronics readout system designed for prototype radiotracer imaging instruments. The critical requirements are that it has sufficient performance, channel count, channel density, and power consumption to service a complete camera, and yet be simple, flexible, and customizable enough to be used with almost any detector or camera design. An important feature of this system is that each analog input is processed independently. Each input can be configured to accept signals of either polarity as well as either differential or ground referenced signals. Each signal is digitized by a continuously sampled ADC, which is processed by an FPGA to extract pulse height information. A leading edge discriminator creates a timing edge that is "time stamped" by a TDC implemented inside the FPGA. This digital information from each channel is sent to an FPGA that services 16 analog channels, and information from multiple channels is processed by this FPGA to perform logic for crystal lookup, DOI calculation, calibration, etc. As all of this processing is controlled by firmware and software, it can be modified / customized easily. The system is open source, meaning that all technical data (specifications, schematics and board layout files, source code, and instructions) will be publicly available.

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“…Whereas the industry is expanding fast, the relevant technologies are not yet mature and still under development of their early product stages [1]. Numerous research activities are ongoing in various aspects of flexible electronics over a wide spectrum of topics from materials [2] and processes [3] to systems and applications [4].…”

An algorithm for automatic crystal identification in pixelated scintillation detectors using thin plate splines and Gaussian mixture models

“…The aim of openPET is to be customizable and flexible to meet the needs of almost any camera or detector design while also meeting critical system requirements such as energy consumption, channel count, and channel density (W. W. Moses et al, 2009). While NIM electronics were used in tested individual detector modules, portability is essential for the PET insert developed by this group so the switch to more compact acquisition electronics was needed.…”

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