Sub-millimeter planar imaging with positron emitters: EGS4 code simulation and experimental results

Experimental data for Planar Imaging with positron emitters (pulse height, efficiency and spatial resolution) obtained with two matrices of 25 crystals (2 x 2 x 30 mm(3) each) of YAP:Ce coupled with a Position Sensitive PhotoMultiplier (Hamamatsu R2486-06) have been reproduced with high accuracy using the EGS4 code. Extensive simulation provides a detailed description of the performance of this type of detector as a function of the matrix granularity, the geometry of the detector and detection threshold. We present the Monte Carlo simulation and the preliminary experimental results of a prototype planar imaging system made of two matrices, each one consisting of 400 (2 x 2 x 30 mm(3)) crystals of YAP:Ce.