Fast Timing MPGD for ToF-PET

Positron emission tomography (PET) is an effective functional imaging technique especially for cancer diagnosis. Its performance is strictly connected to the ability to detect and reconstruct photons emitted by the positron–electron annihilation. Its sensitivity is enhanced when time information is included (time-of-flight (ToF) PET). The measure of the detection time difference between the annihilation of the two photons leads to a higher contrast image and more accurate diagnoses. We describe the studies for a possible development of a ToF-PET based on Micro Pattern Gas Detector (MPGD). This kind of detector has a very good spatial and time resolution (order of 100μm and few ns, respectively) and very low price, making it suitable for a full-body scanner. Further improvement in the time precision (suitable goal is to achieve values of the order of 100 ps) could be reached thanks to the Fast Timing MPGD (FTM) design, where multiple layers of MPGD compete in better measuring time information.