High-spatial-resolution MWPC for medical imaging with positron emitters

The performance of a 15 x 15 cm2 MultiWire Proportional Chamber (MWPC) with lead glass tube converter is presented. A standard Argon-Methane (70-30) gas mixture has been used at various pressures between 1.0 and 2.0 atm. For 511 keV γ-rays incident almost perpendicular onto a 1.0 cm thick lead glass tube converter, a detection efficiency of 4.5%, a time resolution of 130 ns (FWHM) and a spatial resolution of 1.3 mm (FWHM) has been obtained at 2 atm. Fast delay lines, capacitively coupled to the cathodes, standard integrated amplifiers and comparator electronics have been adopted for the position read-out. The use of fast delay lines (specific delay 8 ns/cm) ensures a high rate capability. A multiplanar positron camera is proposed, made of six MWPC modules arranged to form the lateral surface of a hexagonal prism. Each module (50 x 50 cm2) will have a 2 cm thick converter on both sides of the chamber and will be operating at 2 atm. The expected performance is presented and compared with that of a recent multi-ring BGO camera, and is shown to be superior in spatial resolution and comparable in event rate at a considerably lower cost