Integrated optical and nuclear simulation of a monolithic LYSO:Ce based PET detector module

In the recent years new digital photon counter devices (also known as silicon photomultipliers, SiPMs) were designed and manufactured to be used specifically in positron emission tomography (PET) scanners. Finely pixelated SiPM arrays have opened new opportunities in PET detector development, such as the utilization of monolithic scintillator crystals. We worked out a simulation tool (SCOPE2) to assist the optimization and characterization of such PET detector modules. In the present paper we report the first application of SCOPE2 on the performance evaluation of a prototype PET detector module. The PET detector is based on monolithic LYSO:Ce scintillator crystal and a fully digital, silicon photon-counter, SPADnet-I. A new interface has been developed for SCOPE2 to access GATE simulation results. A combination of GATE and SCOPE2 was used to simulate excitation of the prototype PET detector with an electronically collimated γ -beam. Measurement results from the collimated γ-beam experiment were compared with the combined simulation. A good agreement was observed in the tendencies of total count spectrum and point of interaction distribution. We used the performance evaluation to understand and explain the measurement results in detail.