“The HICAM Gamma Camera”

This work deals with the development of a new compact and high-resolution (<1mm) Anger camera to be used in clinical and research environments where high overall spatial resolution and system compactness are required. The use of Silicon Drift Detectors (SDDs) as scintillator photodetectors, characterized by high quantum efficiency and low electronic noise, is the peculiar aspect of this camera. Two prototypes were produced during the project. The smaller one, composed by 25 SDDs with a 5x5cm2 active area, has been used for a first assessment of the performances and first trials in small animal imaging. The larger one, developed following the same architecture, is composed by 100 SDDs of 1cm2 active area each, in a 10x10cm2 format. We report on the results of imaging measurements carried out with the prototypes and on the analysis of the achieved performances.