Scintillator detector array

• US 4,262,202 A
• Filed: 08/27/1979
• Issued: 04/14/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/1979
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Cusano, Dominic A., Di Bianca, Frank A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Alfred E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Howell, Janice A.
• Application Number:
  US06/069,778
• Time in Patent Office: 596 Days
• Field of Search: 250/361 R, 250/363 S, 250/366, 250/367, 250/368, 250/445 T, 252/301.17, 252/301.18, 350/330, 350/335
• US Class Current: 250/366
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/1644 using an array of optically separate scintillation elements permitting direct location of scintillations G01T1/1645 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/204 the detector being a liquid

Abstract

A scintillator detector array particularly useful in computerized tomography comprises a housing including a plurality of walled cellular chambers, said housing having a front wall member transmissive to x-ray radiation and whose chambers are defined by side wall members comprising materials, such as tungsten and tantalum, which are substantially opaque to x-ray radiation. Within the housing there is disposed a liquid scintillation medium including a soluble fluor and solvent material for the fluor. The solvent may comprise either an intrinsically high Z solvent or may be a solvent which has dissolved therein a high Z compound. Also disposed about the cellular chambers are a plurality of photoelectrically responsive devices. The detector array operates to convert x-ray intensity levels of impinging x-ray radiation to related electrical signal intensity levels.

Claims

1. A scintillator detector array particularly useful in computerized tomography comprising:

a housing for holding a liquid scintillation medium, said housing including a plurality of walled cellular chambers, said housing having a front wall structure substantially transmissive to x-ray radiation, said chambers being defined by side wall members which are substantially opaque to x-ray radiation and which are substantially orthogonal to said front wall structure;

a liquid scintillation medium including a soluble fluor and a solvent material for said fluor, said solvent material being selected from the group consisting of a solvent having a high Z compound dissolved therein and an intrinsically high Z solvent; and

a plurality of photoelectrically responsive devices disposed about said cellular chambers so as to receive optical wavelength photons produced by said scintillation medium.

2. The scintillation detector array of claim 1 in which said soluble fluor is selected from the group consisting of p-terphenyl, diphenyl oxazole, butyl-phenyl-biphenylyl-oxadiazole, tetramethyl-p-quaterphenyl, isopropyl biphenyl, and bis phenylethynyl anthracene.

3. The scintillation detector array of claim 1 in which said solvent is selected from the group consisting of toluene, xylene, and trimethyl benzene.

4. The scintillation detector array of claim 3 in which said high Z compound is selected from the group consisting of lead alkyl and tin alkyl.

5. The scintillation detector array of claim 1 in which said intrinsically high Z solvent is selected from the group consisting of iodo-naphthalene and bromo-naphthalene.

6. The scintillation detector array of claim 1 in which said liquid scintillation medium further includes at least one wavelength conversion substance selected from the group consisting of dimethyl POPOP, α

-NPO, bis MSB, rhodamine B, perylene, and BPEA.

7. The scintillation detector array of claim 1 in which said front wall structure comprises plastic.

8. The scintillation detector array of claim 1 in which said cellular chambers are in fluid communication.

9. The scintillation detector array of claim 1 in which said side wall members comprise material selected from the group consisting of tungsten and tantalum.

10. The scintillation detector array of claim 1 in which said interior cellular chamber walls are coated with reflective material.

11. The scintillation detector array of claim 1 in which said photoelectrically responsive devices are disposed within the cellular chambers.