Patent ID: 7629585

Claim:
An equipment for imaging a target organ in a small animal by SPECT, comprising an imaging system and a table for an animal to be examined, said system comprising (i) a plurality of gamma detectors arranged at the corners of a rectangle surrounding said table, wherein each gamma detector comprises a plurality of sensitive crystals in side by side arrangement and is provided on its front with a rake collimator comprising two raised walls slanted towards the target to define a longitudinal slit in between their top ends, and (ii) means for positioning said system relative to said table in two perpendicular directions, both transverse to the table length, to effect movements parallel and perpendicular to the table surface, wherein each crystal of each gamma detector is tapered in one direction toward the table, a plurality of crystals being arranged in contiguous relation to form a sensitive layer which is curved to form a segment, a plurality of said segments surrounding said table, said longitudinal slit being arranged parallel to the table length and having a width from 0.1 to 3 mm, wherein the imaging system comprises means for moving the segments from and toward the table and means for removing and reinserting said collimators from and into their positions in front of the gamma detectors, respectively.