Facilities

Radiation Detector Laboratory

Houses the Liverpool detector characterisation and scanning system. This unique facility allows the automatic characterisation of large volume semiconductor and scintillation detector systems. State-of-the-art multichannel digital electronics are used to read out signals from novel detector systems.

Liverpool Semiconductor Detector Centre (LSDC)

A large clean room complex where semiconductor sensors are assembled into complex instruments. The facility enables the construction and testing of detector systems for use in experiments at accelerator facilities across the world. Detectors have recently been made for the future R3B experiments at FAIR and the ALPHA anti hydrogen experiment at CERN.

CTL Canberra Radiation Lab

Internationally leading radiation detection training facility used for undergraduate, postgraduate and industry training courses. Houses:

  • 36 industry standard, digitally read out NaI scintillation detector
  • 6 high resolution, low background germanium detector based counting systems,
  • Bench top x–ray CT systems,
  • A large neutron facility with He-3, BF3 and scintillator based fast and thermal neutron detectors.

Medical Teaching and Research Laboratory (MTRL)

 

P.J. Nolan, A.J. Boston, H.C. Boston, L.J. Harkness-Brennan, D.S. Judson

The Medical Teaching and Research Laboratory (MTRL) is a unique facility in the UK. It houses a SPECT/CT scanner dedicated to MSc and CPD teaching and research. The scanner at Daresbury is a GE Infinia SPECT gamma camera with Hawkeye single slice CT, manufactured in 2006 and previously in use at St James’ hospital in Leeds.

 

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Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) imaging uses radioactive tracers to “see” biological processes happening in our bodies. It is usually called functional imaging because it shows how the human body behaves. SPECT allows doctors to look at many things including blood flow in the heart, blood flow and Parkinson’s detection in the brain, bone scanning for arthritis, infection or cancer and lung scanning which can be used to check for blood clots.‌

SPECT/CT imaging combines SPECT with Computed Tomography (CT) imaging, which takes many x-rays taken from different angles to build up a 3-d image of the body. This is usually called structural imaging because it shows a map of body’s structure. Software can merge the images from these two techniques.

MTRL is a partnership between STFC, the University of Liverpool Physics Department, and the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. The MTRL was born out of the need to provide hands-on training for students from the NHS Scientist Training Programme MSc course in Clinical Science (Medical Physics) taught by University of Liverpool.

Training for CPD will be part of the lab’s remit as well as research projects for MSc students or medical physicists into ways to improve SPECT imaging.

The research groups already collaborate in medical physics research, applying techniques and knowledge from nuclear physics research to improve nuclear medicine. The latest example is the STFC CLASP-funded project, ProSPECTus, a novel SPECT imager using the Compton camera principle and implemented using technology from the AGATA project. ProSPECTus will benefit from being able to benchmark against a well understood commercial SPECT scanner.

Medical Teaching and Research Laboratory (MTRL) website

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