New medical imaging based on electron tracking Compton camera (ETCC)

: We have developed an Electron-Tracking Compton Camera (ETCC) for medical imaging due to its wide energy dynamic range (200-1,500keV) and wide field of view (FOV, 3 str). This camera has a potential of developing the new reagents. We have carried out several imaging reagent studies as examples; (1) 18F-FDG and 131I-MIBG simultaneous imaging for double clinical tracer imaging, (2) imaging of some minerals (Mn-54, Zn-65, Fe-59) in mouse and plants. In addition, ETCC has a potential of real-time monitoring of the Bragg peak location by imaging prompt gamma rays for the beam therapy. We carried out the water phantom experiment using 140MeV proton beam, and obtained the images of both 511 keV and high energy gamma rays (800-2,000keV). Here better correlation of the latter image to the Bragg peak has been observed. Another potential of ETCC is to reconstruct the 3D image using only one-head camera without rotations of both the target and camera. Good 3D images of the thyroid grant phantom and the mouse with tumor were observed. In order to advance those features to the practical use, we are improving the all components and then construct the multi-head ETCC system.