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Time-of-flight positron emission tomography using Cerenkov luminescence in bismuth germanate

Award Number: R01EB029633
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE Of BIOMEDICAL IMAGING & BIOENGINEERING
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

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SUMMARY Positron emission tomography (PET) is widely used as a diagnostic molecular imaging technique and clearly has had a significant impact on human healthcare. There have been significant improvements in PET technology by employing time-of-flight (TOF) capability that measures the difference in arrival time of the two 511 keV gamma annihilation rays. This TOF information spatially constrains the origin of the event, leading to improved image quality due to the increased signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and effective sensitivity in the PET scan. The scintillator bismuth germanate (BGO), however, has several better properties for PET applications than L(Y)SO, such as higher stopping power and higher photo-electric fraction. BGO also has no background activity and can be produced at lower cost than L(Y)SO. However, a major drawback of BGO is the poor coincidence timing resolution originating from the moderate light yield and slow decay time of scintillation photon production. Therefore, BGO has not been considered for use in current generation TOF PET scanners. Theoretically, when a 511keV gamma ray interacts in a scintillator, a small number of optical Cerenkov photons are produced promptly by energetic electrons released by photoelectric or Compton interactions. The Cerenkov photons are produced within an extremely short time frame and earlier than scintillation photons, Thus the Cerenkov photons should provide better timing information for PET. Interestingly, BGO has properties that lead to it producing more Cerenkov photons than other scintillators. Recently, we showed, for the first time, the influence of prompt Cerenkov photons on the timing properties of BGO using latest generation silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) developed by our partner FBK. Thus, our proposed concept for BGO is that Cerenkov photons are used to obtain prompt timing information while scintillation photons provide essential energy information for PET. The major goals of this proposal are i) to improve coincidence timing resolution of BGO by detecting more Cerenkov photons for TOF PET applications, ii) to develop signal reducing methods and read-out electronics for signals generated by both Cerenkov and scintillation photons, and iii) to finally develop and evaluate the first practical BGO-based TOF PET detector modules, which have 5 × 5 cm2 cross-sectional area and a coincidence timing resolution of ≤300 ps FWHM. If successful, this proposal forms the basis for developing novel BGO-based TOF PET scanners with higher sensitivity and lower cost than current PET scanners.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $348,626 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS	1850 RESEARCH PARK DR, STE 300	DAVIS	CA	95618	YOLO	USA	Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health	000	4	1/8/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$320,166
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS	1850 RESEARCH PARK DR STE 300	DAVIS	CA	95618	YOLO	USA	Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health	001	4	6/26/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$28,460
														Subtotal = $348,626

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $467,201 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS	1850 RESEARCH PARK DR, STE 300	DAVIS	CA	95618	YOLO	USA	Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health	001	3	7/10/2023	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$98,240
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS	1850 RESEARCH PARK DR, STE 300	DAVIS	CA	95618	YOLO	USA	Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health	000	3	3/13/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$368,961
														Subtotal = $467,201

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2022	2021	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS	1850 RESEARCH PARK DR, STE 300	DAVIS	CA	95618	YOLO	USA	Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health	000	2	2/10/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $360,436 )
2021	2021	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS	1850 RESEARCH PARK DR, STE 300	DAVIS	CA	95618	YOLO	USA	Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health	001	2	5/28/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2021	2021	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS	1850 RESEARCH PARK DR, STE 300	DAVIS	CA	95618	YOLO	USA	Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health	000	2	3/20/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$360,436
														Subtotal = $360,436

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $383,435 )
2020	2020	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS	1850 RESEARCH PARK DR, STE 300	DAVIS	CA	95618	YOLO	USA	Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health	000	1	4/16/2020	NEW	$383,435
														Subtotal = $383,435

Grand Total All Awards = $1,559,698

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Time-of-flight positron emission tomography using Cerenkov luminescence in bismuth germanate

Award Number: R01EB029633

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE Of BIOMEDICAL IMAGING & BIOENGINEERING

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

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