Patent ID: 7321122

Claim:
A method of collecting coincidence data relating to positron annihilation events in which two back-to-back photons are emitted comprising: selecting coincident events detected within a Compton camera array in which a first γ-ray and a second γ-ray each surpass an energy threshold and in which the first γ-ray is Compton scattered and is detected in a first detector and the second γ-ray is Compton scattered or photo-absorbed and detected in a second detector, the first and second detectors being arranged in an opposed configuration; reconstructing a cone surface corresponding to possible incident angles for at least one of the first or second γ-ray on at least one of the detectors; projecting the reconstructed cone onto the opposed detector; determining, within an angular resolution and a position resolution of the Compton camera array, a probability corresponding to an overlap of the reconstructed cone surface with a location of the first or second γ-ray detected in the opposed detector; retaining data corresponding to coincidence events having a probability above an acceptance threshold; and using the retained data for constructing an image.