POSITION-SENSITIVE DETECTORS FOR MEDICAL IMAGING

The application of position sensitive radiation detectors in medical i maging is fundamental to improvements in image quality and quantificat ion that underwrites the search for better diagnosis and treatment. De velopments in particle physics, nuclear physics and astronomy could ha ve a profound impact on medical imaging by overcoming the limitations of existing technology. The advent of new scintillators and semi-condu ctors allied to the enormous advances in micro-electronics and micropr ocessing should lead to substantial improvements in autoradiography, d igital radiography, positron emission tomography, single photon emissi on tomography and other imaging methods relevant to medicine. In this paper we discuss recent developments which may be relevant to improved medical imaging on a broad front.