Off-line experiments on radionuclide detection based on the sequential Bayesian approach

Abstract

The sequential Bayesian approach proposed by Candy et al. for radioactive materials detection has aroused increasing interest in radiation detection research and is potentially a useful tool for prevention of the transportation of radioactive materials by terrorists. In our previous work, the performance of the sequential Bayesian approach was studied numerically through a simulation experiment platform. In this paper, a sequential Bayesian processor incorporating a LaBr3(Ce) detector, and using the energy, decay rate and emission probability of the radionuclide, is fully developed. Off-line experiments for the performance of the sequential Bayesian approach in radionuclide detection are developed by placing 60Co, 137Cs, 133Ba and 152Eu at various distances from the front face of the LaBr3(Ce) detector. The off-line experiment results agree well with the results of previous numerical experiments. The maximum detection distance is introduced to evaluate the processor′s ability to detect radionuclides with a specific level of activity.