XEMIS: A liquid xenon detector for medical imaging

A new medical imaging technique based on the precise 3D location of a radioactive source by the simultaneous detection of 3γ rays has been proposed by Subatech laboratory. To take advantage of this novel technique a detection device based on a liquid xenon Compton telescope and a specific (β+, γ) emitter radionuclide, 44Sc, are required. A first prototype of a liquid xenon time projection chamber called XEMIS1 has been successfully developed showing very promising results for the energy and spatial resolutions for the ionization signal in liquid xenon, thanks to an advanced cryogenics system, which has contributed to a high liquid xenon purity with a very good stability and an ultra-low noise front-end electronics (below 100 electrons) operating at liquid xenon temperature. The very positive results obtained with XEMIS1 have led to the development of a second prototype for small animal imaging, XEMIS2, which is now under development. To study the feasibility of the 3γ imaging technique and optimize the characteristics of the device, a complete Monte Carlo simulation has been also carried out. A preliminary study shows very positive results for the sensitivity, energy and spatial resolutions of XEMIS2.