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Research conducted in the framework of the J-PET project aims to develop a cost-effective total-body positron emission tomography scanner. As a first step on the way to construct a full-scale J-PET tomograph from long strips of plastic scintillators, a 24-strip prototype was built and tested. The prototype consists of detection modules arranged axially forming a cylindrical diagnostic chamber with the inner diameter of 360 mm and the axial field-of-view of 300 mm. Promising perspectives for a low-cost construction of a total-body PET scanner are opened due to an axial arrangement of strips of plastic scintillators, wchich have a small light attenuation, superior timing properties, and the possibility of cost-effective increase of the axial field-of-view. The presented prototype comprises dedicated solely digital front-end electronic circuits and a triggerless data acquisition system which required development of new calibration methods including time, thresholds and gain synchronization. The system and elaborated calibration methods including first results of the 24-module J-PET prototype are presented and discussed. The achieved coincidence resolving time equals to CRT = 490 $\pm$ 9 ps. This value can be translated to the position reconstruction accuracy $\sigma(\Delta l) =$ 18 mm which is fairly position-independent., Comment: Accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement

In this article it is presented an FPGA based $M$ulti-$V$oltage $T$hreshold (MVT) system which allows of sampling fast signals ($1-2$ ns rising and falling edge) in both voltage and time domain. It is possible to achieve a precision of time measurement of $20$ ps RMS and reconstruct charge of signals, using a simple approach, with deviation from real value smaller than 10$\%$. Utilization of the differential inputs of an FPGA chip as comparators together with an implementation of a TDC inside an FPGA allowed us to achieve a compact multi-channel system characterized by low power consumption and low production costs. This paper describes realization and functioning of the system comprising 192-channel TDC board and a four mezzanine cards which split incoming signals and discriminate them. The boards have been used to validate a newly developed Time-of-Flight Positron Emission Tomography system based on plastic scintillators. The achieved full system time resolution of $\sigma$(TOF) $\approx 68$ ps is by factor of two better with respect to the current TOF-PET systems., Comment: Accepted for publication in JINST, 10 pages, 8 figures

In this paper we estimate the time resolution of the J-PET scanner built from plastic scintillators. We incorporate the method of signal processing using the Tikhonov regularization framework and the Kernel Density Estimation method. We obtain simple, closed-form analytical formulas for time resolutions. The proposed method is validated using signals registered by means of the single detection unit of the J-PET tomograph built out from 30 cm long plastic scintillator strip. It is shown that the experimental and theoretical results, obtained for the J-PET scanner equipped with vacuum tube photomultipliers, are consistent., Comment: 25 pages, 11 figures

We demonstrated the feasibility of measuring the axial coordinate of a gamma quantum interaction point in a plastic scintillator bar via the detection of scintillation photons escaping from the scintillator with an array of wavelength-shifting (WLS) strips. Using a test set-up comprising a BC-420 scintillator bar and an~array of sixteen BC-482A WLS strips we achieved a spatial resolution of~5\,mm~($\sigma$) for annihilation photons from a $^{22}$Na isotope. The studied method can be used to improve the spatial resolution of a plastic-scintillator-based PET scanner which is being developed by the J-PET collaboration., Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures; Submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A

We present a study of the application of the Jagiellonian Positron Emission Tomograph (J-PET) for the registration of gamma quanta from decays of ortho-positronium (o-Ps). The J-PET is the first positron emission tomography scanner based on organic scintillators in contrast to all current PET scanners based on inorganic crystals. Monte Carlo simulations show that the J-PET as an axially symmetric and high acceptance scanner can be used as a multi-purpose detector well suited to pursue research including e.g. tests of discrete symmetries in decays of ortho-positronium in addition to the medical imaging. The gamma quanta originating from o-Ps decay interact in the plastic scintillators predominantly via the Compton effect, making the direct measurement of their energy impossible. Nevertheless, it is shown in this paper that the J-PET scanner will enable studies of the o-Ps$\to3\gamma$ decays with angular and energy resolution equal to $\sigma(\theta) \approx 0.4^{\circ}$ and $\sigma(E) \approx 4.1$ keV, respectively. An order of magnitude shorter decay time of signals from plastic scintillators with respect to the inorganic crystals results not only in better timing properties crucial for the reduction of physical and instrumental background, but also suppresses significantly the pileups, thus enabling compensation of the lower efficiency of the plastic scintillators by performing measurements with higher positron source activities.

This work reports on a new reconstruction algorithm allowing to reconstruct the decays of ortho-positronium atoms into three photons using the places and times of photons recorded in the detector. The method is based on trilateration and allows for a simultaneous reconstruction of both location and time of the decay. Results of resolution tests of the new reconstruction in the J-PET detector based on Monte Carlo simulations are presented, which yield a spatial resolution at the level of 2 cm (FWHM) for X and Y and at the level of 1 cm (FWHM) for Z available with the present resolution of J-PET after application of a kinematic fit. Prospects of employment of this method for studying angular correlations of photons in decays of polarized ortho-positronia for the needs of tests of CP and CPT discrete symmetries are also discussed. The new reconstruction method allows for discrimination of background from random three-photon coincidences as well as for application of a novel method for determination of the linear polarization of ortho-positronium atoms, which is also introduced in this work., Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in Nuclear Instrumentation and Methods in Physics Research A

A novel Positron Emission Tomography system, based on plastic scintillators, is being developed by the J-PET collaboration. In this article we present the simulation results of the scatter fraction, representing one of the parameters crucial for background studies defined in the NEMA-NU-2-2012 norm. We elaborate an event selection methods allowing to suppress events in which gamma quanta were scattered in the phantom or underwent the multiple scattering in the detector. The estimated scatter fraction for the single-layer J-PET scanner varies from 37% to 53% depending on the applied energy threshold., Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures

Various mesoporous materials were investigated to choose the best material for experiments requiring high yield of long-lived positronium. We found that the fraction of 3\gamma annihilation determined using \gamma-ray energy spectra and positron annihilation lifetime spectra (PAL) changed from 20% to 25%. The 3gamma fraction and o-Ps formation probability in the polymer XAD-4 is found to be the largest. Elemental analysis performed using scanning electron microscop (SEM) equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscop EDS show high purity of the investigated materials., Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures

Jagiellonian Positron Emission Tomograph (J-PET) is a multi-purpose detector which will be used for search for discrete symmetries violations in the decays of positronium atoms and for investigations with positronium atoms in life-sciences and medical diagnostics. In this article we present three methods for determination of the beam profile of collimated annihilation gamma quanta. Precise monitoring of this profile is essential for time and energy calibration of the J-PET detector and for the determination of the library of model signals used in the hit-time and hit-position reconstruction. We have we have shown that usage of two lead bricks with dimensions of 5x10x20 cm^3 enables to form a beam of annihilation quanta with Gaussian profile characterized by 1 mm FWHM. Determination of this characteristic is essential for designing and construction the collimator system for the 24-module J-PET prototype. Simulations of the beam profile for different collimator dimensions were performed. This allowed us to choose optimal collimation system in terms of the beam profile parameters, dimensions and weight of the collimator taking into account the design of the 24 module J-PET detector., Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures

In this paper, we present a complete Data Acquisition System (DAQ) together with the readout mechanisms for the J-PET tomography scanner. In general detector readout chain is constructed out of Front-End Electronics (FEE), measurement devices like Time-to-Digital or Analog-to-Digital Converters (TDCs or ADCs), data collectors and storage. We have developed a system capable for maintaining continuous readout of digitized data without preliminary selection. Such operation mode results in up to 8 Gbps data stream, therefore it is required to introduce a dedicated module for online event building and feature extraction. The Central Controller Module, equipped with Xilinx Zynq SoC and 16 optical transceivers serves as such true real time computing facility. Our solution for the continuous data recording (trigger-less) is a novel approach in such detector systems and assures that most of the information is preserved on the storage for further, high-level processing. Signal discrimination applies an unique method of using LVDS buffers located in the FPGA fabric., Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure

The Jagiellonian Positron Emission Tomograph (J-PET) was constructed as a prototype of the cost-effective scanner for the simultaneous metabolic imaging of the whole human body. Being optimized for the detection of photons from the electron-positron annihilation with high time- and high angular-resolution, it constitutes a multi-purpose detector providing new opportunities for studying the decays of positronium atoms. Positronium is the lightest purely leptonic object decaying into photons. As an atom bound by a central potential it is a parity eigenstate, and as an atom built out of an electron and an anti-electron it is an eigenstate of the charge conjugation operator. Therefore, the positronium is a unique laboratory to study discrete symmetries whose precision is limited in principle by the effects due to the weak interactions expected at the level of (~10$^{-14}$) and photon-photon interactions expected at the level of (~10$^{-9}$). The J-PET detector enables to perform tests of discrete symmetries in the leptonic sector via the determination of the expectation values of the discrete-symmetries-odd operators, which may be constructed from the spin of ortho-positronium atom and the momenta and polarization vectors of photons originating from its annihilation. In this article we present the potential of the J-PET detector to test the C, CP, T and CPT symmetries in the decays of positronium atoms., Comment: 27 pages, 6 figures

Recent tests of a single module of the Jagiellonian Positron Emission Tomography system (J-PET) consisting of 30 cm long plastic scintillator strips have proven its applicability for the detection of annihilation quanta (0.511 MeV) with a coincidence resolving time (CRT) of 0.266 ns. The achieved resolution is almost by a factor of two better with respect to the current TOF-PET detectors and it can still be improved since, as it is shown in this article, the intrinsic limit of time resolution for the determination of time of the interaction of 0.511 MeV gamma quanta in plastic scintillators is much lower. As the major point of the article, a method allowing to record timestamps of several photons, at two ends of the scintillator strip, by means of matrix of silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) is introduced. As a result of simulations, conducted with the number of SiPM varying from 4 to 42, it is shown that the improvement of timing resolution saturates with the growing number of photomultipliers, and that the 2 x 5 configuration at two ends allowing to read twenty timestamps, constitutes an optimal solution. The conducted simulations accounted for the emission time distribution, photon transport and absorption inside the scintillator, as well as quantum efficiency and transit time spread of photosensors, and were checked based on the experimental results. Application of the 2 x 5 matrix of SiPM allows for achieving the coincidence resolving time in positron emission tomography of $\approx$ 0.170 ns for 15 cm axial field-of-view (AFOV) and $\approx$ 0.365 ns for 100 cm AFOV. The results open perspectives for construction of a cost-effective TOF-PET scanner with significantly better TOF resolution and larger AFOV with respect to the current TOF-PET modalities., Comment: To be published in Phys. Med. Biol. (26 pages, 17 figures)

In this paper we present prospects for using the J-PET detector to search for discrete symmetries violations in a purely leptonic system of the positronium atom. We discuss tests of CP and CPT symmetries by means of ortho-positronium decays into three photons. No zero expectation values for chosen correlations between ortho-positronium spin and momentum vectors of photons would imply the existence of physics phenomena beyond the Standard Model. Previous measurements resulted in violation amplitude parameters for CP and CPT symmetries consistent with zero, with an uncertainty of about 10-3. The J-PET detector allows to determine those values with better precision thanks to a unique time and angular esolution combined with a high geometrical acceptance. Achieving the aforementioned is possible due to application of polymer scintillators instead of crystals as detectors of annihilation quanta., Comment: in Nukleonika 2015

Results of Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy (PALS) and microscopic studies on simple microorganisms: brewing yeasts are presented. Lifetime of ortho - positronium (o-Ps) were found to change from 2.4 to 2.9 ns (longer lived component) for lyophilised and aqueous yeasts, respectively. Also hygroscopicity of yeasts in time was examined, allowing to check how water - the main component of the cell - affects PALS parameters, thus lifetime of o-Ps were found to change from 1.2 to 1.4 ns (shorter lived component) for the dried yeasts. The time sufficient to hydrate the cells was found below 10 hours. In the presence of liquid water an indication of reorganization of yeast in the molecular scale was observed. Microscopic images of the lyophilised, dried and wet yeasts with best possible resolution were obtained using Inverted Microscopy (IM) and Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy (ESEM) methods. As a result visible changes to the surface of the cell membrane were observed in ESEM images., Comment: Nukleonika (2015)

The J-PET detector being developed at Jagiellonian University, is a Positron Emission Tomograph composed of the long strips of polymer scintillators. At the same time it is a detector system which will be used for studies of the decays of positronium atoms. The shape of photomultiplier signals depends on the hit-time and hit-position of the gamma quantum. In order to take advantage of this fact a dedicated sampling front-end electronics which enables to sample signals in voltage domain with the time precision of about 20 ps and novel reconstruction method based on the comparison of examined signal with the model signals stored in the library has been developed. As a measure of the similarity we use the Mahalanobis distance. The achievable position and time-resolution depends on number and values of the threshold levels at which the signal is sampled. A reconstruction method, as well as preliminary results are presented and discussed., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures

The polystyrene dopped with 2,5-diphenyloxazole as a primary fluor and 2-(4-styrylphenyl)benzoxazole as a wavelength shifter, prepared as a plastic scintillator was investigated using positronium probe in wide range of temperatures from 123 to 423 K. Three structural transitions at 260 K, 283 K and 370 K were found in the material. In the o-Ps intensity dependence on temperature, the significant hysteresis is observed. Heated to 370 K, the material exhibits the o-Ps intensity variations in time., Comment: in Nukleonika 2015

The Jagiellonian-PET (J-PET) collaboration is developing a prototype TOF-PET detector based on long polymer scintillators. This novel approach exploits the excellent time properties of the plastic scintillators, which permit very precise time measurements. The very fast, FPGA-based front-end electronics and the data acquisition system, as well as, low- and high-level reconstruction algorithms were specially developed to be used with the J-PET scanner. The TOF-PET data processing and reconstruction are time and resource demanding operations, especially in case of a large acceptance detector, which works in triggerless data acquisition mode. In this article, we discuss the parallel computing methods applied to optimize the data processing for the J-PET detector. We begin with general concepts of parallel computing and then we discuss several applications of those techniques in the J-PET data processing., Comment: 8 pages

Nowadays, in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) systems, a Time of Flight information is used to improve the image reconstruction process. In Time of Flight PET (TOF-PET), fast detectors are able to measure the difference in the arrival time of the two gamma rays, with the precision enabling to shorten significantly a range along the line-of-response (LOR) where the annihilation occurred. In the new concept, called J-PET scanner, gamma rays are detected in plastic scintillators. In a single strip of J-PET system, time values are obtained by probing signals in the amplitude domain. Owing to Compress Sensing theory, information about the shape and amplitude of the signals is recovered. In this paper we demonstrate that based on the acquired signals parameters, a better signal normalization may be provided in order to improve the TOF resolution. The procedure was tested using large sample of data registered by a dedicated detection setup enabling sampling of signals with 50 ps intervals. Experimental setup provided irradiation of a chosen position in the plastic scintillator strip with annihilation gamma quanta.

The J-PET scanner, which allows for single bed imaging of the whole human body, is currently under development at the Jagiellonian University. The dis- cussed detector offers improvement of the Time of Flight (TOF) resolution due to the use of fast plastic scintillators and dedicated electronics allowing for sam- pling in the voltage domain of signals with durations of few nanoseconds. In this paper we show that recovery of the whole signal, based on only a few samples, is possible. In order to do that, we incorporate the training signals into the Tikhonov regularization framework and we perform the Principal Component Analysis decomposition, which is well known for its compaction properties. The method yields a simple closed form analytical solution that does not require iter- ative processing. Moreover, from the Bayes theory the properties of regularized solution, especially its covariance matrix, may be easily derived. This is the key to introduce and prove the formula for calculations of the signal recovery error. In this paper we show that an average recovery error is approximately inversely proportional to the number of acquired samples.

J-PET analysis framework is a flexible, lightweight, ROOT-based software package which provides the tools to develop reconstruction and calibration procedures for PET tomography. In this article we present the implementation of the full data-processing chain in the J-PET framework which is used for the data analysis of the J-PET tomography scanner. The Framework incorporates automated handling of PET setup parameters' database as well as high level tools for building data reconstruction procedures. Each of these components is briefly discussed., Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure

In this article we present a novel method of hit time and hit position reconstruction in long scintillator detectors. We take advantage of the fact that for this kind of detectors amplitude and shape of registered signals depends strongly on the position where particle hit the detector. The reconstruction is based on determination of the degree of similarity between measured and averaged signals stored in a library for a set of well-defined positions along the scintillator. Preliminary results of validation of the introduced method with experimental data obtained by means of the double strip prototype of the J-PET detector are presented.

We present a fast GPU implementation of the image reconstruction routine, for a novel two strip PET detector that relies solely on the time of flight measurements.

Novel Positron Emission Tomography system, based on plastic scintillators, is developed by the J-PET collaboration. In order to optimize geometrical configuration of built device, advanced computer simulations are performed. Detailed study is presented of background given by accidental coincidences and multiple scattering of gamma quanta., Comment: 18 pages, 16 figures

For the first time a molecule of 2-(4-styrylphenyl)benzoxazole containing benzoxazole and stilbene groups is applied as a scintillator dopant acting as a wavelength shifter. In this article a light yield of the plastic scintillator, prepared from styrene doped with 2 wt% of 2,5-diphenylbenzoxazole and 0.03 wt% of 2-(4-styrylphenyl)benzoxazole, is determined to be as large as 60% $\pm$ 2% of the anthracene light output. There is a potential to improve this value in the future by the optimization of the additives concentrations.

A novel method of hit time and hit position reconstruction in scintillator detectors is described. The method is based on comparison of detector signals with results stored in a library of synchronized model signals registered for a set of well-defined positions of scintillation points. The hit position is reconstructed as the one corresponding to the signal from the library which is most similar to the measurement signal. The time of the interaction is determined as a relative time between the measured signal and the most similar one in the library. A degree of similarity of measured and model signals is defined as the distance between points representing the measurement- and model-signal in the multi-dimensional measurement space. Novelty of the method lies also in the proposed way of synchronization of model signals enabling direct determination of the difference between time-of-flights (TOF) of annihilation quanta from the annihilation point to the detectors. The introduced method was validated using experimental data obtained by means of the double strip prototype of the J-PET detector and $^{22}$Na sodium isotope as a source of annihilation gamma quanta.The detector was built out from plastic scintillator strips with dimensions of 5 mm x 19 mm x 300 mm, optically connected at both sides to photomultipliers,from which signals were sampled by means of the Serial Data Analyzer.Using the introduced method, the spatial and TOF resolution of about 1.3 cm ($\sigma$) and 125 ps ($\sigma$) were established, respectively.

Currently inorganic scintillator detectors are used in all commercial Time of Flight Positron Emission Tomograph (TOF-PET) devices. The J-PET collaboration investigates a possibility of construction of a PET scanner from plastic scintillators which would allow for single bed imaging of the whole human body. This paper describes a novel method of hit-position reconstruction based on sampled signals and an example of an application of the method for a single module with a 30 cm long plastic strip, read out on both ends by Hamamatsu R4998 photomultipliers. The sampling scheme to generate a vector with samples of a PET event waveform with respect to four user-defined amplitudes is introduced. The experimental setup provides irradiation of a chosen position in the plastic scintillator strip with an annihilation gamma quanta of energy 511~keV. The statistical test for a multivariate normal (MVN) distribution of measured vectors at a given position is developed, and it is shown that signals sampled at four thresholds in a voltage domain are approximately normally distributed variables. With the presented method of a vector analysis made out of waveform samples acquired with four thresholds, we obtain a spatial resolution of about 1 cm and a timing resolution of about 80 ps

Time of Flight Positron Emission Tomography scanner based on plastic scintillators is being developed at the Jagiellonian University by the J-PET collaboration. The main challenge of the conducted research lies in the elaboration of a method allowing application of plastic scintillators for the detection of low energy gamma quanta. In this article we report on tests of a single detection module built out from BC-420 plastic scintillator strip (with dimensions of 5x19x300mm^3) read out at two ends by Hamamatsu R5320 photomultipliers. The measurements were performed using collimated beam of annihilation quanta from the 68Ge isotope and applying the Serial Data Analyzer (Lecroy SDA6000A) which enabled sampling of signals with 50ps intervals. The time resolution of the prototype module was established to be better than 80ps (sigma) for a single level discrimination. The spatial resolution of the determination of the hit position along the strip was determined to be about 0.93cm (sigma) for the annihilation quanta. The fractional energy resolution for the energy E deposited by the annihilation quanta via the Compton scattering amounts to sigma(E)/E = 0.044/sqrt(E[MeV]) and corresponds to the sigma(E)/E of 7.5% at the Compton edge., Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures; Updated with editorial corrections related to publication in NIM A

A novel PET detector consisting of strips of polymer scintillators is being developed by the J-PET Collaboration. The map of efficiency and the map of geometrical acceptance of the 2-strip J-PET scanner are presented. Map of efficiency was determined using the Monte Carlo simulation software GATE based on GEANT4. Both maps were compared using method based on the chi2 test., Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, proceeding from conference Symposium on Positron Emission Tomography: http://koza.if.uj.edu.pl/pet-symposium-2013/

The complexity of the hardware and the amount of data collected during the PET imaging process require application of modern methods of efficient data organization and processing. In this article we will discuss the data structures and the flow of collected data from the novel TOF-PET medical scanner which is being developed at the Jagiellonian University. The developed data format reflects: registration process of the gamma quanta emitted from positron-electron annihilation, Front-End Electronic (FEE) structure and required input information for the image reconstruction. In addition, the system database fulfills possible demands of the evolving J-PET project., Comment: 6 p, 3 figs, based on talk given at Symposium on Positron Emission Tomography, Sept. 19-22, 2013, Jagiellonian University, Krak\'ow PL, submitted to Bio-Algorithms and Med-Systems

We discuss computing issues for data analysis and image reconstruction of PET-TOF medical scanner or other medical scanning devices producing large volumes of data. Service architecture based on the grid and cloud concepts for distributed processing is proposed and critically discussed., Comment: 9 p, 3 figs, based on talk given at Symposium on Positron Emission Tomography, Sept. 19-22, 2013, Jagiellonian University, Krak\'ow, Pl

Photomultipliers are commonly used in commercial PET scanner as devices which convert light produced in scintillator by gamma quanta from positron-electron annihilation into electrical signal. For proper analysis of obtained electrical signal, a photomultiplier gain curve must be known, since gain can be significantly different even between photomultipliers of the same model. In this article we describe single photoelectron method used for photomultipliers calibration applied for J-PET scanner, a novel PET detector being developed at the Jagiellonian University. Description of calibration method, an example of calibration curve and gain of few R4998 Hamamatsu photomultipliers are presented., Comment: Submitted to Bio-Algorithms and Med-Systems (12 pages, 6 figures)

This article describes simulations of scattering of annihilation gamma quanta in a strip of plastic scintillator. Such strips constitute basic detection modules in a newly proposed Positron Emission Tomography which utilizes plastic scintillators instead of inorganic crystals. An algorithm simulating chain of Compton scatterings was elaborated and series of simulations have been conducted for the scintillator strip with the cross section of 5 mm x 19 mm. Obtained results indicate that secondary interactions occur only in the case of about 8% of events and out of them only 25$\%$ take place in the distance larger than 0.5 cm from the primary interaction. It was also established that light signals produced at primary and secondary interactions overlap with the delay which distribution is characterized by FWHM of about 40 ps., Comment: Submitted to Bio-Algorithms and Med-Systems (14 pages, 9 figures)

Novel TOF-PET scanner solutions demand, apart from the state of the art detectors, software for fast processing of the gathered data, monitoring of the whole scanner and reconstruction of the PET image. In this article we present an analysis framework for the novel STRIP-PET scanner developed by the J-PET collaboration in the Institute of Physics of the Jagiellonian University. This software is based on the ROOT package used in many particle physics experiments., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures

All of the present methods for calibration and monitoring of TOF-PET scanner detectors utilize radioactive isotopes such as e.g. $^{22}$Na or $^{68}$Ge, which are placed or rotate inside the scanner. In this article we describe a novel method based on the cosmic rays application to the PET calibration and monitoring methods. The concept allows to overcome many of the drawbacks of the present methods and it is well suited for newly developed TOF-PET scanners with a large longitudinal field of view. The method enables also monitoring of the quality of the scintillator materials and in general allows for the continuous quality assurance of the PET detector performance., Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures

A method of determination of a gamma quantum absorption point in a plastic scintillator block using a matrix of wavelength-shifting (WLS) strips is proposed. Application of this method for improvement of position resolution in newly proposed PET detectors based on plastic scintillators is presented. The method enables to reduce parallax errors in reconstruction of images which occurs in the presently used Positron Emission Tomography scanners., Comment: Submitted to Bio-Algorithms and Med-Systems (6 pages, 4 figures)

This article presents a novel technique for precise measurement of time and charge based solely on FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) device and few satellite discrete electronic components used in Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Described approach simplifies electronic circuits, reduces the power consumption, lowers costs, merges front-end electronics with digital electronics and also makes more compact final design. Furthermore, it allows to measure time when analog signals cross a reference voltage at different threshold levels with a very high precision of $\sim$ 10ps (rms) and thus enables sampling of signals in a voltage domain., Comment: Submitted to Bio-Algorithms and Med.-Systems (6 pages, 6 figures)

Reconstruction of the image in Positron Emission Tomographs (PET) requires the knowledge of the system response kernel which describes the contribution of each pixel (voxel) to each tube of response (TOR). This is especially important in list-mode reconstruction systems, where an efficient analytical approximation of such function is required. In this contribution, we present a derivation of the system response kernel for a novel 2D strip PET., Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures; Presented at Symposium on applied nuclear physics and innovative technologies, Cracow, 03-06 June 2013

Compressive Sensing theory says that it is possible to reconstruct a measured signal if an enough sparse representation of this signal exists in comparison to the number of random measurements. This theory was applied to reconstruct signals from measurements of plastic scintillators. Sparse representation of obtained signals was found using SVD transform., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures; Presented at Symposium on applied nuclear physics and innovative technologies, Cracow, 03-06 June 2013

In this contribution we present a new concept of the large acceptance detector systems based on organic scintillators which may allow for simultaneous diagnostic of large fraction of the human body. Novelty of the concept lies in employing large blocks of polymer scintillators instead of crystals as detectors of annihilation quanta, and in using predominantly the timing of signals instead of their amplitudes., Comment: Proceedings of the Positron Emission Tomography in Research and Diagnostics conference, Warsaw 16 - 19 May, 2012

We briefly present a design of a new PET scanner based on strips of polymer scintillators arranged in a barrel constituting a large acceptance detector. The solution proposed is based on the superior timing properties of the polymer scintillators. The position and time of the reaction of the gamma quanta in the detector material will be determined based on the time of arrival of light signals to the edges of the scintillator strips., Comment: Proceedings of the Positron Emission Tomography in Research and Diagnostics conference, Warsaw 16 - 19 May, 2012

An exclusive measurement of the excitation function for the dd->3Heppi- reaction was performed at the Cooler Synchrotron COSY-Juelich with the WASA-at-COSY detection system. The data were taken during a slow acceleration of the beam from 2.185 GeV/c to 2.400 GeV/c crossing the kinematic threshold for the eta meson production in the dd->4He-eta reaction at 2.336 GeV/c. The corresponding excess energy with respect to the 4He-eta system varied from -51.4MeV to 22MeV. The integrated luminosity in the experiment was determined using the dd->3Hen reaction. The shape of the excitation function for the dd->3Heppi- was examined. No signal of the 4He-eta bound state was observed. An upper limit for the cross-section for the bound state formation and decay in the process dd->(4He-eta)bound->3Heppi- was determined on the 90% confidence level and it varies from 20nb to 27nb for the bound state width ranging from 5MeV to 35MeV, respectively., Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures

Exclusive and kinematically complete high-statistics measurements of the basic double pionic fusion reactions pn -> dpi0pi0, pn -> d pi+pi- and pp -> dpi+pi0 have been carried out simultaneously over the energy region of the ABC effect using the WASA detector setup at COSY. Whereas the isoscalar reaction part given by the dpi0pi0 channel exhibits the ABC effect, i.e. a low-mass enhancement in the pipi-invariant mass distribution, as well as the associated resonance structure in the total cross section, the isovector part given by the dpi+pi0 channel shows a smooth behavior consistent with the conventional t-channel Delta Delta process. The dpi+pi- data are very well reproduced by combining the data for isovector and isoscalar contributions, if the kinematical consequences of the isospin violation due to different masses for charged and neutral pions are taken into account.

Exclusive and kinematically complete high-statistics measurements of the double pionic fusion reaction $dd \to ^4$He$\pi^0\pi^0$ have been performed in the energy range 0.8 - 1.4 GeV covering thus the region of the ABC effect, which denotes a pronounced low-mass enhancement in the $\pi\pi$-invariant mass spectrum. The experiments were carried out with the WASA detector setup at COSY. Similar to the observation in the basic $pn \to d \pi^0\pi^0$ reaction, the data reveal a correlation between the ABC effect and a resonance-like energy dependence in the total cross section. The maximum occurs at m=2.37 GeV + 2$m_N$, i.e. at the same position as in the basic reaction. The observed resonance width $\Gamma \approx$ 160 MeV can be understood from broadening due to Fermi motion of the nucleons in initial and final nuclei together with collision damping. Differential cross sections are described equally well by the hypothesis of a $pn$ resonance formation during the reaction process.

An exclusive measurement of the decay eta --> pi+ pi- gamma has been performed at the WASA facility at COSY. The eta mesons were produced in the fusion reaction pd --> 3He X at a proton beam momentum of 1.7 GeV/c. Efficiency corrected differential distributions have been extracted based on 13340\pm140 events after background subtraction. The measured pion angular distribution is consistent with a relative p-wave of the two-pion system, whereas the measured photon energy spectrum was found at variance with the simplest gauge invariant matrix element of eta --> pi+ pi- gamma. A parameterization of the data can be achieved by the additional inclusion of the empirical pion vector form factor multiplied by a first-order polynomial in the squared invariant mass of the pi+ pi- system., Comment: 7 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Phys.Lett.B

The reaction pp->pppi0pi0 has been investigated at a beam energy of 1.4 GeV using the WASA-at-COSY facility. The total cross section is found to be (324 +- 21_systematic +- 58_normalization) mub. In order to to study the production mechanism, differential kinematical distributions have been evaluated. The differential distributions indicate that both initial state protons are excited into intermediate Delta(1232) resonances, each decaying into a proton and a single pion, thereby producing the pion pair in the final state. No significant contribution of the Roper resonance N*(1440) via its decay into a proton and two pions is found, Comment: Submitted to PLB