Liquid Xenon Detectors for Positron Emission Tomography

PET is a functional imaging technique based on detection of annihilation photons following beta decay producing positrons. In this paper, we present the concept of a new PET system for preclinical applications consisting of a ring of twelve time projection chambers filled with liquid xenon viewed by avalanche photodiodes. Simultaneous measurement of ionization charge and scintillation light leads to a significant improvement to spatial resolution, image quality, and sensitivity. Simulated performance shows that an energy resolution of < 10% (FWHM) and a sensitivity of 15% are achievable. First tests with a prototype TPC indicate position resolution < 1 mm (FWHM).