Preliminary Results with TOFPET

TOFPET is a high resolution whole body positron camera which uses time-of-flight information to (a) improve the signal to noise ratio of a reconstructed image and (b) improve the sensitivity of the central slices by using all the interplane coincidences. The first phase of the construction of the camera has been completed, with all the detectors operational and data collected in the list format with a VAX 11/750 computer. Some of the preliminary results obtained with TOFPET such as resolution and sensitivity, as well as, images of Rubidium-82 in a dog heart are presented. The second phase of the construction, which involves the installation of the on-line microprocessors for faster image reconstruction, is being implemented at this time and is expected to be completed by early 1983, at which time the TOFPET camera will be used for routine clinical studies.