• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.1266-1276
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• 2021

The mask parameters of a coded aperture are critical design features when optimizing the performance of a gamma-ray camera. In this paper, experiments and Monte Carlo simulations were performed to derive the minimum detectable activity (MDA) when one seeks a real-time imaging capability. First, the impact of the thickness of the modified uniformly redundant array (MURA) mask on the image quality is quantified, and the imaging of point, line, and surface radiation sources is demonstrated using both cross-correlation (CC) and maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM) methods. Second, the minimum detectable activity is also derived for real-time imaging by altering the factors used in the image quality assessment, consisting of the peak-to-noise ratio (PSNR), the normalized mean square error (NMSE), the spatial resolution (full width at half maximum; FWHM), and the structural similarity (SSIM), all evaluated as a function of energy and mask thickness. Sufficiently sharp images were reconstructed when the mask thickness was approximately 2 cm for a source energy between 30 keV and 1.5 MeV and the minimum detectable activity for real-time imaging was 23.7 MBq at 1 m distance for a 1 s collection time.

• 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.

• 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.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.247-255
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• 2008

A coded aperture camera has been developed to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) while keeping the spatial resolution of a pinhole gamma camera. The purpose of this study was to optimize a coded aperture camera and to evaluate its possibility for thyroid imaging by Monte Carlo simulation. A clinical gamma camera, a pinhole collimator with 1.0 mm hole diameter, and a $79{\times}79$ modified uniformly redundant array (MURA) mask were designed using GATE (Geant4 Application for Tomographic Emission). The penetration ratio, spatial resolution, integral uniformity and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) were simulated and evaluated as a function of the mask thickness. The spatial resolution of the coded aperture camera was consistent with the various mask thickness, SNR showed a maximum value at 1.2 mm mask thickness and integral uniformity was improved by increasing mask thickness. Compare to the pinhole gamma camera, the coded aperture camera showed improved SNR by a factor of 30 while keeping almost the same spatial resolution. In this simulation study, the results indicated that high spatial resolution and ultra-high SNR of the thyroid imaging are feasible using a coded aperture camera.