Compact Compton Camera Research Articles

Evaluation and optimization of geometry parameters of GAGG scintillator-based Compton Camera for medical imaging by Monte Carlo simulation

In nuclear medicine, the development of portable imaging devices that provide high imaging resolution and sensitivity, capable of imaging gamma rays with a wide energy range and multiple radioisotopes tracing capabilities, is so important. These goals have been possible thanks to developing a compact Compton camera, a collimatorless detector coupled to compact silicon photomultiplier(SiPM) array, using scintillator crystal. In this study, the portable segmented GAGG:Ce scintillator-based Compton camera (CC) is optimized with the GATE, a Monte Carlo simulation toolkit based on Geant4, to maximize its performance for a wide range of gamma-ray energy (364–1000 keV). The geometrical parameters are selected as optimization parameters to investigate their effects on CC's performance, including imaging resolution and absolute detection efficiency (DE a ). The geometry parameters of CC include the planner area of scatterer and absorber detectors, their thicknesses, and the distance between them. The results for the energy range of 364–1000 keV show that the most important contributions to the spatial resolution and DE a of the camera are SAD (scatterer to absorber distance) and the scatterer area while changing absorber area (AA ) showed the most negligible impact. In the short SADs, imaging resolution and DE a are significantly affected by the detector's size and thickness. On the other hand, in the long SADs (> 4 cm), both spatial resolution and DE a are significantly affected by the detector's area but less affected by the detector's thickness. Decreasing the scatterer's thickness and the absorber's size or thickness improves imaging resolution without significantly reducing DE a . The simulation study's findings presented here will provide valuable guidelines for researchers choosing a desired CC's design according to particular objectives, manufacturing limitations in scintillator growth, cost, etc.

Radiation imaging using an integrated Radiation Imaging System based on a compact Compton camera under unit 1/2 exhaust stack of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

ABSTRACT The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) went into meltdown after being hit by a large tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake on 11 March 2011. Measuring and understanding the distribution of radioactive contamination inside the FDNPS is essential for decommissioning work, reducing exposure to workers, and ensuring decontamination. This paper reports the visualization tests of radioactive contamination in the Unit 1/2 exhaust stack of the FDNPS using a compact Compton camera. Fixed-point measurements were conducted using only a Compton camera and moving measurements using an integrated radiation imaging system (iRIS) that combines a Compton camera with a simultaneous localization and mapping device. For the moving measurements, an operator carrying the iRIS acquires data continuously while walking in a passage near the stack. With both types of measurements, high-intensity contamination was detected at the base of the stack, and detailed three-dimensional (3D) visualization of the contamination was obtained from the moving measurement. The fixed-point measurements estimated the source intensity of the contamination from the reconstructed contamination image acquired by the Compton camera. Furthermore, workers can experience the work environment before actual work by importing a 3D structure model into a virtual reality system displaying the contamination image.

Optimization of Timepix3-based conventional Compton camera using electron track algorithm

The hybrid pixel detector Timepix3 allows the measurement of the time and energy deposition of an event simultaneously in each 55 μm pixel, which makes Timepix3 a promising approach for a compact Compton camera. However, the angular resolution of Compton camera based on this kind of detector with high pixel density is usually degraded in imaging of MeV gamma-ray sources, because the diffusion of energetic Compton electron or photoelectron could trigger many pixels and lead to an inaccurate measurement of interaction position. In this study, an electron track algorithm is used to reconstruct the electron track and determine the interaction point. An demonstrative experiment was carried out, showing that the effect of this algorithm was significant. The angular resolution measures of a single layer Compton camera based on Timepix3 was enhanced to 12 degrees (FWHM) in imaging of a 60Co gamma-ray source.

Compton camera based on Timepix3 technology

The Compton camera concept is based on the reconstruction of recorded Compton scattering events of incoming gamma rays. The scattering of primary gamma ray occurs in the first detector (called scattering detector—usually thin) recording the position and energy of the recoiled electron. The scattered gamma quantum continues towards the second detector (called absorption detector - usually thick) where it is absorbed. The second detector records the energy and the position of this scattered gamma. Using the Compton scattering equation it is possible to determine the scattering angle, and estimate possible directions of the original gamma ray as a surface of a cone. When the Compton camera records the number of such events, the location and the shape of the gamma source can be reconstructed. Timepix3, a hybrid single photon counting imaging pixel detector, is a perfect device for creation of a compact Compton camera. Timepix3 is an event based readout chip (every hit pixel is immediately sent to a readout) and can record the time-of-arrival (ToA) and energy of an incident gamma simultaneously in each pixel. The chip offers high energy resolution (1 keV at 60 keV, 7 keV at 356 keV), as well as time resolution (1.6 ns). The Timepix3 readout chip can be combined with different sensor materials (Si, CdTe, CZT). In this contribution, we present a very compact detector system for imaging with gamma-rays using the Compton camera principle. The system consists of at least two layers of hybrid pixel detectors Timepix3 with the sensors being optimized for gamma-ray tracking. The front detector layer (scattering) is made of silicon of 1 mm thickness, while the last layer (absorbing) is equipped with thick CdTe or CZT sensors up to 2 mm in thickness. The total absorption of the whole detector can be very high if several CdTe or CZT layers are used. The maximal number of layers is not limited, but the practical evaluation was performed with 2 layers. Thanks to Timepix3 simultaneous measurement of ToA and energy, it is possible to precisely detect coincidence events in the detector layers. Based on the energy and position of these events, it is possible to estimate the possible direction of the original gamma. The angular resolution of the presented Compton camera depends on the detected energy, and it is in the order of 1 degree.

Radiation imaging using a compact Compton camera inside the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station building

ABSTRACT The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS), operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc., went into meltdown in the aftermath of a large tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March 2011. The measurement of radiation distribution inside the FDNPS buildings is indispensable to execute decommissioning tasks in the reactor buildings. We conducted a radiation imaging experiment inside the turbine building of Unit 3 of the FDNPS by using a compact Compton camera and succeeded in visualizing high-dose contamination (up to 3.5 mSv/h). In addition, we drew a three-dimensional radiation distribution map inside the turbine building by integrating the radiation image resulting from the Compton camera into the point cloud data of the experimental environment acquired using a scanning LRF. The radiation distribution map shows the positions of these contaminations on a real space image of the turbine building. The radiation distribution map helps workers to easily recognize radioactive contamination and to decrease their own exposure to radiation because the contamination cannot be observed with the naked eye.

A three-dimensional radiation image display on a real space image created via photogrammetry

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS), operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc., went into meltdown after the occurrence of a large tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011. The radiation distribution measurements inside the FDNPS buildings are indispensable to execute decommissioning tasks in the reactor buildings. We have developed a three-dimensional (3D) image reconstruction method for radioactive substances using a compact Compton camera. Moreover, we succeeded in visually recognizing the position of radioactive substances in real space by the integration of 3D radiation images and the 3D photo-model created using photogrammetry.

Development of compact Compton camera for 3D image reconstruction of radioactive contamination

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS), operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc., went into meltdown after the large tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011. Very large amounts of radionuclides were released from the damaged plant. Radiation distribution measurements inside FDNPS buildings are indispensable to execute decommissioning tasks in the reactor buildings. We have developed a compact Compton camera to measure the distribution of radioactive contamination inside the FDNPS buildings three-dimensionally (3D). The total weight of the Compton camera is lower than 1.0 kg. The gamma-ray sensor of the Compton camera employs Ce-doped GAGG (Gd3Al2Ga3O12) scintillators coupled with a multi-pixel photon counter. Angular correction of the detection efficiency of the Compton camera was conducted. Moreover, we developed a 3D back-projection method using the multi-angle data measured with the Compton camera. We successfully observed 3D radiation images resulting from the two 137Cs radioactive sources, and the image of the 9.2 MBq source appeared stronger than that of the 2.7 MBq source.

4π FOV compact Compton camera for nuclear material investigations

A compact Compton camera with a 4π field of view (FOV) was manufactured using the design parameters optimized with the effective choice of gamma-ray interaction order determined from a Monte Carlo simulation. The camera consisted of six CsI(Na) planar scintillators with a pixelized structure that was coupled to position sensitive photomultiplier tubes (H8500) consisting of multiple anodes connected to custom-made circuits. The size of the scintillator and each pixel was 4.4×4.4×0.5 and 0.2×0.2×0.5 cm, respectively. The total size of each detection module was only 5×5×6 cm and the distance between the detector modules was approximately 10 cm to maximize the camera performance, as calculated by the simulation. Therefore, the camera is quite portable for examining nuclear materials in areas, such as harbors or nuclear power plants. The non-uniformity of the multi-anode PMTs was corrected using a novel readout circuit. Amplitude information of the signals from the electronics attached to the scintillator-coupled multi-anode PMTs was collected using a data acquisition board (cDAQ-9178), and the timing information was sent to a FPGA (SPARTAN3E). The FPGA picked the rising edges of the timing signals, and compared the edges of the signals from six detection modules to select the coincident signal from a Compton pair only. The output of the FPGA triggered the DAQ board to send the effective Compton events to a computer. The Compton image was reconstructed, and the performance of the 4π FOV Compact camera was examined.

A compact Compton camera using scintillators for the investigation of nuclear materials

Through its ability to reconstruct high energy (up to several MeV) radiation distributions without using thick mechanical collimation, the Compton camera has been used in many studies like astrophysics, industrial survey, homeland security and medical purposes. Whereas the performance of mechanical collimation decreases with radiation energy, the Compton camera is effective for detecting higher energy radiation. Even though scintillation detectors show high efficiencies, high timing resolution and usability without a cooling device, the bulky size of conventional photomultiplier tubes limits the scope of their applications to gamma-ray imaging. In order to overcome the limitation we constructed a Compton camera, which combined sodium doped cesium iodide (CsI(Na)) scintillators with position sensitive photomultiplier tubes (PSPMTs), which had multiple anodes connected to custom made circuits. The whole size of each detector is only about 5 cm×5 cm×6 cm, and therefore, it can be carried in hand for investigation of nuclear materials at seaports, airports or nuclear power plants. The intrinsic imaging efficiency and angular resolution of the compact Compton camera were 1.7293×10 −4 and 17.1° for a 356 keV source and 4.5254×10 −5 and 12.8° for a 662 keV source.