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Gamma locator for radionuclide diagnostics of oncological diseases

Keywords

Nuclear medicine, radionuclide diagnostics, radioguided surgery, gamma-ray detector, gamma probe

Applications

Radionuclide diagnostics of oncological diseases, radioguided surgery, sentinel lymph nodes localization

Problem statement

According to the World Health Organization more than 7,5 million people die from cancer every year. In Russia at the beginning of 2011 more than 2,6 million patients were registered in oncological hospitals. Over the last 10 years the number of cancer patients in the country increased by 25.5%. Over the past 10 years, the number of cancer patients in the country increased by 25.5%. Most often, the probability of recovery from cancer is higher if pathological changes were diagnosed earlier. This requires highly accurate, efficient diagnostic tools, which are easy to use and safe for the patient. “Gamma-locator” is a device that meets all the listed requirements.

Technology

Gamma-locator is a miniature γ-ray detector used in nuclear medicine to determine spatial distribution of radiopharmaceuticals in a human body in the real time mode. Radiopharmaceuticals containing γ-active radionuclides (e.g., 99mTc-MIBI and 99mTc-tetrophosmine) rapidly absorbed by certain tumors are introduced in the patient’s blood vascular system. The technique of manual scanning with a miniature γ detector in the course of radionuclide diagnostics complements tomographic investigations using γ cameras and positron emission tomographs. Miniature γ-detectors are also used for the intraoperative localization of lymph nodes, affected with metastases.

Gamma-locator is based on a locally produced LaBr3:Ce inorganic scintillator, which exhibits a high efficiency for γ rays, and a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM), which features internal amplification of the optical signal. SiPM is packed together with a scintillator in a sealed duralumin enclosure. Readout electronics are mounted on a double sided PCB. Tungsten collimator with a wall thickness of 2 mm is used to narrow a field of view of the detector. Indication is performed by an acoustic signal and a digital display.

Advantages

  • Low cost in comparison with commercially available analogs
  • High sensitivity to medical radionuclides – 12 pps/kBq for 99m-Tc
  • Spatial resolution – 7 mm
  • Spatial selectivity – 26 degrees
  • Alternative application areas – quality control of radiopharmaceuticals, industrial radiation monitoring

Inventors/Authors

  • Prof. Vladimir Belyaev
  • Prof. Alexander Bolozdynya
  • Dr. Vadim Kantserov
  • Dr. Valery Sosnovtsev
  • Anastasia Berdnikova

Intellectual Property

  • Utility model patent RU 144697

Publications

  1. A. Yagnyukova, T. Khabibullin, A. Bolozdynya, V. Kantserov, K. Zhukov “Gamma Probe Based on Scintillation Crystal and Silicon Photomultiplier”, Radiotherapy and oncology V110 Supplement 1-108, Elsevier 2014
  2. A. K. Yagnyukova, A. I. Bolozdynya, K. A. Vorobiev, E. I. Evgrafova, K. I. Zhukov, V. A. Kantserov, V. V. Sosnovtsev, D. E. Filipov “A γ Probe for Radionuclide Diagnostics of Cancer”, Instruments and Experimental Techniques, 2015, Vol. 58, No. 1, pp. 153–157

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