Results of a first demonstrator prototype of a Compton prostate probe

A prostate probe based on the Compton imaging technique can outperform the methods currently employed for prostate imaging, improving early tumour detection, determination of its extent and follow-up of the response to treatment. Although nuclear imaging techniques have proven extremely valuable for this task in a wide variety of non-urologic cancers, present instrumentation is not adequate for prostate imaging. Compton imaging overcomes the resolution–efficiency tradeoff imposed by mechanical collimators, allowing both to improve simultaneously. A first Compton probe prototype has been developed, employing thick silicon sensors as scatter detectors, and its performance has been optimized. A series of measurements have been performed with 57Co and 133Ba sources. The results confirm the correct functioning of the prototype and the improvement of the spatial resolution with photon energy, low scattering angles and distance from the first to the second detector.