Drew Weisenberger

Radiation Detector and Imaging Group

Physics Division

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility

Bio-medical Applications of 

Jefferson Lab’s Nuclear Physics 

Detector Technology
JLab’s Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility
Radiation Detector & Imaging Group

Support design and construction of new detector systems 

Technical consultants for the lab scientists and users

Development and use of imaging and non-imaging detector systems

Expertise in nuclear particle detection 

gas based detectors

silicon photomultiplier (SiPMs)

scintillation and light guide techniques

standard and position-sensitive photomultiplier tubes (PSPMTs)

fast analog readout electronics and data acquisition

on-line image formation and analysis

image reconstruction algorithms with motion correction

compact detectors
incident

gamma-ray

Ee = hν - Eb

hν

ejected

electron

Θ

e

-

hν’

before after

hν

Compton Scattering Photoelectric Absorption

Θ=0

Ec

Θ=π

hν

Compton

continuum

photo peak

dN/dE

E (energy)

Scintillator: transparent material for detecting 

high energy photons (i.e. x-rays, gammarays)

A high energy photon deposits energy in the atoms 

of the scintillator resulting in the release of lower 

energy photons that can then be converted to an 

electrical signal by devices called photomultiplier 

tubes (PMTs).

Detecting and Imaging Radioactive Decay (a nuclear process)
Somatostatin 

receptors

(neuroendocrine 

tumors)

Structural Functional

www.radswiki.net

Bio-Medical Imaging Modalities
Nuclear Medicine Imaging Basics

Functional imaging (vs structural): patient injected with a 

radiopharmaceutical that has a biological function in the body i.e. 

metabolism.

Radiopharmaceutical: radioactive isotope + bioactive tag

Gamma Camera

planar nuclear medicine images (also known as scintigraphy)

Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT)

technetium-99m (140 keV gamma-ray, 6 hour half-life) 

Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

coincident radiation detection through positron-electron interaction

fluorine-18 (positron emitter, 110 minute half-life) two 511 kev 

annihilation photons
Rotating Gantry

End View

Gamma 

Camera 

Module

Side View

Side View

Annihilation 

Point

Detector Ring

End View

Detector Module

gamma ray

gamma ray

Clinical SPECT System Clinical PET System
Latest photomultiplier technology allows modular detector construction

Compact 

position 

sensitive 

PMTs and 

Silicon PMs

Light Spreader

PSPMT PSPMT PSPMT PSPMT PSPMT

Pixellated Scintillator Crystal
Need for a Detector Built for the Task

Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging
Smart ShieldTM 

immobilizes the 

breast and prevents 

shine-through

Compact detector

allows imaging close to 

the chest wall

Dilon 6800 

Gamma Camera

www.dilon.com

Several patents 

licensed from JLab
Imaging lymph nodes before surgery with JLab built 

gantry mounted gamma camera. Right: Imaging 

during surgery. University of Virginia surgeons.

Handheld Gamma Camera for Cancer Surgery

SiPM based would be lighter 

and hand held. 

patents pending
Awake Small Animal Imaging

A new tool for biological research under development:

JLab, ORNL and JHU

Several patents awarded and pending
Image of mouse injected with bone marker MDP-Tc99m

Using high resolution 

parallel hole collimator

Using 1mm pinhole ~2x 

magnification
Addiction research

Neuro-degeneration: 

Alzheimer's Disease

Parkinson's Disease

Brain inflammation (i.e. HIV, MS).

Stem cell trafficking

Indications for awake animal SPECT imaging

 avoid influence of anesthesia on: blood flow, metabolism, neural- vascular coupling

 elucidate disease pathophysiology

 drug/radiopharmaceutical development

 mimic the human state
SPECT 

camera

Infrared 

Tracking 

System

Awake Animal SPECT-CT Imaging System

An awake mouse with infrared

reflectors for head tracking shown

in imaging burrow.

Computer display illustrating

real-time pose tracking via the

stereo infrared CCD cameras.
Tc99mMDP

SPECT Scan of Awake Mouse

Movie of Multiple SPECT 

Projections

Handheld Imaging Gamma Detector Development

Hand held gamma cameras for field work

SiPM based with tracking

Handheld detector with tungsten 

shell and tungsten collimators
Plant Biology Specific PET Detector Development

•Crop Pathogen

•Bio-fuels

•Photosynthesis Studies

•Subsurface radiation contamination 

to crops

•Carbon sequestration

Dual 15 cm x 20 cm Planar PET system 

3.03 mm step pixellated, 10 mm thick 

LGSO (90% LSO, 10% GSO) array

 6x8 array of Hamamatsu R7600-00-C8 

PSPMTs

Dual 5 cm x 5 cm Planar PET system 

1.5 mm step pixellated, 10 mm thick, LYSO 

array using 4ch PEM readout

Single Hamamatsu H8500 PSPMT

Duke Forest FACE Reach in EGC

Silicon Photomultplier

(SiPM)

Compact

MRI compatible

Hordeum distichum L
The model plant used for 

the experiment was barley 

(Hordeum distichum L.) 

grown in hydroponic fluid
Montage of root area reconstructed images. Time 

bin for each image was 20 minutes. Images are 

decay corrected for the half-life of 11C. Time bin 

was 20 minutes, images are decay corrected for 

the half-life of 11C 

Reconstruction montage of the leaf area of the 

image data obtained using a Plexiglass positron 

trap. Enhanced sensitivity is observed.

PET Imaging of Carbon Dioxide Utilization in Plant
Plant Biology Specific Direct β+ Imaging Detector Development

R3292 110mm diam. Hamamatsu PSPMT coupled to BC400 0.5mm thick plastic 

scintillator, 15 microns Mylar film and 25 micron Tedlar film were applied on top of the 

scintillating plastic. Detector ~600X more sensitive that dual planar PET.

H8500 Hamamatsu 5cm x 5cm PSPMT – 2 mm thick BC408 “Detector on a plastic scintillator Cs137 & Cd109 electron sources

stick”
Gamma-ray Imaging for Biological Systems

Partners:

•Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)

•Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL)

•Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)

•West Virginia University

•Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute

•University of Virginia

•Johns Hopkins University

•Case Western Reserve University

•College of William and Mary

•Duke University

•Columbia University

•Dilon Technologies, Inc.
Detector Group Spin-Off Companies

Dilon Technologies

Ray Visions, Inc

Adaptive I/O

NeoMed

JLab CTO: Roy Whitney

757-269-7536

https://www.jlab.org/exp_prog/techtransfer/