• IEIE Transactions on Smart Processing and Computing
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.124-128
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• 2017

A light guide improves the spatial resolution of a gamma ray imaging system by diffusing the scintillation light. Similarly, light diffusion film, which has been applied to flat-panel-display engineering, spreads the light from the light guide panel. In this study, we adopted light diffusion film for the light guide of a gamma ray imaging system, and evaluated its diffusion characteristics. We compared the light diffusion performance of the film to an ordinary acrylic plate. As a result, the diffusion film widely spreads scintillation light. As for the thickness of the light guide, we acquired more distinct images with three films overlapped than with an acrylic plate. We expect light diffusion film to be a promising candidate for light guides in gamma ray imaging systems.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.214-225
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• 2022

Background: The conventional cerium-doped Gd₂Al₂Ga₃O₁₂ (GAGG(Ce)) scintillator-based gamma-ray imager has a bulky detector, which can lead to incorrect positioning of the gammaray source if the shielding against background radiation is not appropriately designed. In addition, portability is important in complex environments such as inside nuclear power plants, yet existing gamma-ray imager based on a tungsten mask tends to be weighty and therefore difficult to handle. Motivated by the need to develop a system that is not sensitive to background radiation and is portable, we changed the material of the scintillator and the coded aperture. Materials and Methods: The existing GAGG(Ce) was replaced with Bi₄Ge₃O₁₂ (BGO), a scintillator with high gamma-ray detection efficiency but low energy resolution, and replaced the tungsten (W) used in the existing coded aperture with lead (Pb). Each BGO scintillator is pixelated with 144 elements (12 × 12), and each pixel has an area of 4 mm × 4 mm and the scintillator thickness ranges from 5 to 20 mm (5, 10, and 20 mm). A coded aperture consisting of Pb with a thickness of 20 mm was applied to the BGO scintillators of all thicknesses. Results and Discussion: Spectroscopic characterization, imaging performance, and image quality evaluation revealed the 10 mm-thick BGO scintillators enabled the portable gamma-ray imager to deliver optimal performance. Although its performance is slightly inferior to that of existing GAGG(Ce)-based gamma-ray imager, the results confirmed that the manufacturing cost and the system's overall weight can be reduced. Conclusion: Despite the spectral characteristics, imaging system performance, and image quality is slightly lower than that of GAGG(Ce), the results show that BGO scintillators are preferable for gamma-ray imaging systems in terms of cost and ease of deployment, and the proposed design is well worth applying to systems intended for use in areas that do not require high precision.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.11
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• pp.2572-2580
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• 2020

Emerging gamma ray detection applications that utilize neutron-based interrogation result in the prompt emission of high-energy (>2 MeV) gamma-rays. Rapid imaging is enabled by scintillators that possess high density, high atomic number, and excellent energy resolution. In this paper, we evaluate the bright (50,000 photons/MeV) oxide scintillator, cerium-doped Gd₂Al₂Ga₃O₁₂ (GAGG(Ce)). A silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) array is coupled to a GAGG(Ce) scintillator array (12 × 12 pixels) and integrated into a coded-aperture based gamma-ray imaging system. A resistor-based symmetric charge division circuit was used reduce the multiplicity of the analog outputs from 144 to 4. The developed system exhibits 9.1%, 8.3%, and 8.0% FWHM energy resolutions at 511 keV, 662 keV, and 1173.2 keV, respectively. In addition, a pixel-identification resolution of 602 ㎛ FWHM was obtained from the GAGG(Ce) scintillator array.

• IEIE Transactions on Smart Processing and Computing
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.66-70
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• 2017

Radioactive materials are used in medicine, non-destructive testing, and nuclear plants. Source localization is especially important during nuclear decommissioning and decontamination because the actual location of the radioactive source within nuclear waste is often unknown. The coded-aperture imaging technique started with space exploration and moved into X-ray and gamma ray imaging, which have imaging process characteristics similar to each other. In this study, we simulated $21{\times}21$ and $37{\times}37$ coded aperture collimators based on a modified uniformly redundant array (MURA) pattern to make a gamma imaging system that can localize a gamma-ray source. We designed a $21{\times}21$ coded aperture collimator that matches our gamma imaging detector and did feasibility experiments with the coded aperture imaging system. We evaluated the performance of each collimator, from 2 mm to 10 mm thicknesses (at 2 mm intervals) using root mean square error (RMSE) and sensitivity in a simulation. In experimental results, the full width half maximum (FWHM) of the point source was $5.09^{\circ}$ at the center and $4.82^{\circ}$ at the location of the source was $9^{\circ}$. We will continue to improve the decoding algorithm and optimize the collimator for high-energy gamma rays emitted from a nuclear power plant.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.197-203
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• 2015

Nuclear power plant has increased continuously for power production in all over the world and the interest about nuclear accident and the dismantling of aging nuclear power plant has been a growing. The leaked radioactive source that is generated by radiation accidents must detect and remove to minimized the damage as soon as possible. Gamma-ray detection system that have been developed until now cannot provide the precise position of radioactive sources because they detect and imaging the position of radiation sources in just two dimensions. In this paper, stereo gamma ray detection system has developed and the algorithm for calculation of the distance has implemented to be able to measure the distribution of the leakage gamma ray source for the system. Stereo camera calibration for distance detection was conducted with the correction pattern and LED light and we carried out performance test of the system for the LED light source and a gamma ray source. In both experiments the results of the performance test, it was confirmed to have a 5% error. The results of this paper is used as a material for the development of gamma-ray imaging device.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.58 no.7
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• pp.1450-1455
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• 2009

Assumed that an IPTV camera system is to be used as an ad-hoc sensor for the surveillance and diagnostics of safety-critical equipments installed in the in-containment building of the nuclear power plant, an major problem is the presence of high dose-rate gamma irradiation fields inside the one. In order to uses an IPTV camera in such intense gamma radiation environment of the in-containment building, the radiation-weakened devices including a CCD imaging sensor, FPGA, ASIC and microprocessors are to be properly shielded from high dose-rate gamma radiation using the high-density material, lead or tungsten. But the passive elements such as mirror, lens and window, which are placed in the optical path of the CCD imaging sensor, are exposed to a high dose-rate gamma ray source directly. So, the gamma-ray irradiation characteristics of the passive elements, is needed to test. A CCD camera lens, made of glass material, have been gamma irradiated at the dose rate of 4.2 kGy/h during an hour up to a total dose of 4 kGy. The radiation induced color-center in the glass lens is observed. The degradation performance of the gamma irradiated lens is explained using an color component analysis.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2016.10a
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• pp.942-943
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• 2016

Stereo gamma ray detection system generates a two-dimensional image of the gamma ray by using the position values and the gamma ray signal. And the device will overlap with the visible light image shows the actual distribution of the gamma-ray space. The gamma ray detection device is a stereo configuration to a motion controller for controlling the signal measurement unit and the position detection portion for detecting the detection portion and the gamma-ray signal comprising a gamma-ray detection sensor. In this paper, we developed a system operation management algorithm for each module individually configured efficiently. We confirmed the imaged and distribution information output for the gamma rays from gamma-ray irradiation test site by using these results.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.112-119
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• 2021

Background: This work aims to develop a new imaging system based on a pulse shape discrimination-capable Cs₂LiYCl₆:Ce (CLYC) scintillation detector combined with the rotational modulation collimator (RMC) technique for dual-particle imaging. Materials and Methods: In this study, a CLYC-based RMC system was designed based on Monte Carlo simulations, and a prototype was fabricated. Therein, a rotation control system was developed to rotate the RMC unit precisely, and a graphical user interface-based software was also developed to operate the data acquisition with RMC rotation. The RMC system was developed to allow combining various types of collimator masks and detectors interchangeably, making the imaging system more versatile for various applications and conditions. Results and Discussion: Operational performance of the fabricated system was studied by checking the accuracy and precision of the collimator rotation and obtaining modulation patterns from a gamma-ray source repeatedly. Conclusion: The prototype RMC system showed reliability in its mechanical properties and reproducibility in the acquisition of modulation patterns, and it will be further investigated for its dual-particle imaging capability with various complex radioactive source conditions.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.8
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• pp.2640-2645
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• 2021

We report the development of a gamma-ray imaging device, named Large-Area Hybrid Gamma Imager (LAHGI), featuring high imaging sensitivity and good imaging resolution over a broad energy range. A hybrid collimation method, which combines mechanical and electronic collimation, is employed for a stable imaging performance based on large-area scintillation detectors for high imaging sensitivity. The system comprises two monolithic position-sensitive NaI(Tl) scintillation detectors with a crystal area of 27 × 27 cm² and a tungsten coded aperture mask with a modified uniformly redundant array (MURA) pattern. The performance of the system was evaluated under several source conditions. The system showed good imaging resolution (i.e., 6.0-8.9° FWHM) for the entire energy range of 59.5-1330 keV considered in the present study. It also showed very high imaging sensitivity, successfully imaging a 253 µCi ¹³⁷Cs source located 15 m away in 1 min; this performance is notable considering that the dose rate at the front surface of the system, due to the existence of the ¹³⁷Cs source, was only 0.003 µSv/h, which corresponds to ~3% of the background level.

• Biomedical Engineering Letters
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.383-392
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• 2018

For prompt gamma ray imaging for biomedical applications and environmental radiation monitoring, we propose herein a multiple-scattering Compton camera (MSCC). MSCC consists of three or more semiconductor layers with good energy resolution, and has potential for simultaneous detection and differentiation of multiple radio-isotopes based on the measured energies, as well as three-dimensional (3D) imaging of the radio-isotope distribution. In this study, we developed an analytic simulator and a 3D image generator for a MSCC, including the physical models of the radiation source emission and detection processes that can be utilized for geometry and performance prediction prior to the construction of a real system. The analytic simulator for a MSCC records coincidence detections of successive interactions in multiple detector layers. In the successive interaction processes, the emission direction of the incident gamma ray, the scattering angle, and the changed traveling path after the Compton scattering interaction in each detector, were determined by a conical surface uniform random number generator (RNG), and by a Klein-Nishina RNG. The 3D image generator has two functions: the recovery of the initial source energy spectrum and the 3D spatial distribution of the source. We evaluated the analytic simulator and image generator with two different energetic point radiation sources (Cs-137 and Co-60) and with an MSCC comprising three detector layers. The recovered initial energies of the incident radiations were well differentiated from the generated MSCC events. Correspondingly, we could obtain a multi-tracer image that combined the two differentiated images. The developed analytic simulator in this study emulated the randomness of the detection process of a multiple-scattering Compton camera, including the inherent degradation factors of the detectors, such as the limited spatial and energy resolutions. The Doppler-broadening effect owing to the momentum distribution of electrons in Compton scattering was not considered in the detection process because most interested isotopes for biomedical and environmental applications have high energies that are less sensitive to Doppler broadening. The analytic simulator and image generator for MSCC can be utilized to determine the optimal geometrical parameters, such as the distances between detectors and detector size, thus affecting the imaging performance of the Compton camera prior to the development of a real system.