Sopha Medical

Commissariat a L'energie Atomique

Francois De La Barre

Christian Pare

Michel Pierfitte

Michel Bourguignon

Marie-Michele Vassiliou

A gamma camera is provide, that can be used to measure the coefficient of attenuation of the gamma radiation in a body studied by means of a gamma camera normally made to study the effects of gamma radiation emitted by markers injected into the body. To this end, the collimator is removed from this gamma camera, and it is replaced by a ring and by an arm to which there is fixed a chamber designed to contain a radioactive point source external to the body. It is shown that it is thus possible to obtain images in transmission very swiftly. These images are useful for the correction of normal emission images.

Scintillation device usable for measuring attenuation through

Gamma camera equipment of the invention has two detector heads capable of being associated for whole body type examination in which the two detector heads co-operate, or else of being separated for tomographic type examination, where only one of the heads is in use nevertheless continuing to be powered. In order to reinforce the mechanical cohesion of the assembly, the lower detector head is displaceable on rails which are fixed to the stand on which the upper head is mounted so that the stand constitutes a counterweight for the lower head, with struts being provided at the end of the rails only. The invention is particularly suitable for making compact multi-analysis equipment suitable for installation on any type of floor.

Gamma camera equipment having two detector heads

A gamma camera of the invention fitted with a pin-hole cone for acquiring photographic type images, i.e. having a tungsten end fitting disposed at the small end of a truncated cone and provided with a pin-hole therethrough, is suitable for forming a point image of an object to be observed on the basis of gamma radiation emitted therefrom, transmitted through the pin-hole and magnified on reaching the inlet to the scintillator. The truncated cone is modular in structure: the pin-hole cone is mainly constituted by a base, a first truncated cone of suitable thickness for stopping low energy gamma radiation, and a second truncated cone superposable at will on the first so that the assembled cones are of sufficient thickness to stop high energy gamma radiation.

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Sevres, France

Francois De La Barre