Coincident detection of Cherenkov photons from Compton scattered electrons for medical applications

A coincident detection of Cherenkov photons from electrons in the MeV range in PMMA has been performed with the prospect of an application in medical imaging techniques like a Compton Camera or TOF-PET. Using a 8 x 8 SiPM-array a timing resolution of 242 ps has been achieved. A spatial sensitivity for an electron source location from accumulated coincident light signals could be shown. Counting the number of detected photons was enabled. The results obtained are in good agreement with theoretical calculations taking fundamental detector and set-up properties into account. These measurements constitute an important step towards the feasibility of the electron detection in a Compton Camera.