Patent ID: 7884331

Claim:
A helmet brain imager for imaging the entire brain of a compliant human patient comprising: a helmet including an inner shell mounted inside an outer shell; a plurality of closely spaced gamma detection modules mounted in a generally circular shape and secured to said inner shell of said helmet, said gamma detection modules for coincident detection of gamma annihilation photons; each of said gamma detection modules including a pixellated scintillator array and a single layer of basic imaging modules in a 4×4 array, said basic imaging modules including four-side buttable edges; each of said basic imaging modules including a 4×4 array of 3 mm basic silicon photomultiplier pads and onboard electronics having a thickness of less than 1 cm; said basic imaging modules including 1 mm dead spaces at said buttable edges; reflective strips in said dead spaces to improve scintillation light collection from said dead spaces; a strap for securing said helmet to the head of the patient in such a manner that the patient is able to move his or her body and head during an imaging scan and said helmet brain imager will follow all head movements by the patient; a suspension arrangement for supporting the weight of said helmet brain imager; and a data acquisition and processing system for accepting imaging data individually from each of said gamma detection modules for producing tomographic images of the brain.