Russian scientists will increase the accuracy of CT scanners at the quantum level

Specialists from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), together with staff from the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences (INR RAS), experimentally obtained new data on the properties of photons in the so-called Compton scattering. This is one of the main forms of photon interaction. These light particles are used in positron emission tomography (PET) to identify the exact location of cancerous tumors, so the results of basic research will help eliminate diagnostic errors and develop a new generation of PET devices.

The Compton effect is called the scattering of a photon by a charged particle, most often an electron. Previously, researchers were sure that this loses quantum entanglement, that is, the ability of particles to be in several states at the same time. However, experiments on a special installation have shown that it persists.

"According to the results we obtained at the INR RAS facility, quantum entanglement is preserved almost completely even at significant scattering angles. This discovery casts doubt on existing ideas about the interaction of photons and opens up new opportunities for the creation of a new generation of positron emission tomographs (PET)," said Sultan Musin, one of the authors of the study, an assistant professor at the Department of General Physics at MIPT.

A positron emission tomograph (PET) is a medical device that is used to visualize various metabolic processes in the body. For example, it is used to diagnose cancer. The result of the research will allow us to find new ways to minimize noise in the images, which will increase their accuracy, the researchers explained.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

In the photon mode: scientists will increase the accuracy of tomographs at the quantum level