Quantitative dynamic imaging of biological processes with solid state radiation detector

We have developed a technique and a prototype for beta -ray quantitative imaging of biological samples which have been radioactively labeled. The prototype is based on a solid stale pixel detector, bump-bonded to a low threshold, single particle counting chip: the detector we used is 200-mum thick GaAs, with pixel size 170 mum. In this paper we describe an experiment that shows the capability of monitoring a dynamic process. Specifically, [C-14]L-Leucine uptake by eggs of mollusk cephalopod Octopus vulgaris and the consequent migration of marker into the ooplasm was followed.