Recent Developments in Pixelated Gamma Ray Detector and Imaging System

The spatial resolution of gamma‐ray logs is defined by the length 𝓁 of the gamma‐ray detector. To resolve thin beds whose thickness is less than 𝓁, it is generally desirable to deconvolve the data to reduce the averaging effect of the detector. However, inherent in the deconvolution operation is an amplification of high‐frequency noise, which can be a detriment to the intended goal of increased resolution. We propose a Bayesian statistical approach to gamma‐ray log deconvolution which is based on optimization of a probability function which takes into account the statistics of gamma‐ray log measurements as well as the empirical information derived from the data. Application of this method to simulated data and to field measurements shows that it is effective in suppressing high‐frequency noise encountered in the deconvolution of gamma‐ray logs. In particular, a comparison with the least‐squares deconvolution approach indicates that the incorporation of physical and statistical information in the Bayesian optimization process results in optimal filtering of the deconvolved results.

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Development of a simultaneous imaging system to measure the optical and gamma ray images of Ir-192 source for high-dose-rate brachytherapy

Journal of Instrumentation ◽

10.1088/1748-0221/16/12/t12005 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (12) ◽

pp. T12005

Author(s):

J. Nagata ◽

S. Yamamoto ◽

Y. Noguchi ◽

T. Nakaya ◽

K. Okudaira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dose Rate ◽

Spatial Resolution ◽

Gamma Camera ◽

Gamma Ray ◽

Imaging System ◽

High Dose Rate ◽

High Dose ◽

Cmos Camera ◽

Absolute Position ◽

The Absolute

Abstract In high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy, verification of the Ir-192 source's position during treatment is needed because such a source is extremely radioactive. One of the methods used to measure the source position is based on imaging the gamma rays from the source, but the absolute position in a patient cannot be confirmed. To confirm the absolute position, it is necessary to acquire an optical image in addition to the gamma ray image at the same time as well as the same position. To simultaneously image the gamma ray and optical images, we developed an imaging system composed of a low-sensitivity, high-resolution gamma camera integrated with a CMOS camera. The gamma camera has a 1-mm-thick cerium-doped yttrium aluminum perovskite (YAIO3: YAP(Ce)) scintillator plate optically coupled to a position-sensitive photomultiplier (PSPMT), and a 0.1-mm-diameter pinhole collimator was mounted in front of the camera to improve spatial resolution and reduce sensitivity. We employed the concept of a periscope by placing two mirrors tilted at 45 degrees facing each other in front of the gamma camera to image the same field of view (FOV) for the gamma camera and the CMOS camera. The spatial resolution of the imaging system without the mirrors at 100 mm from the Ir-192 source was 3.2 mm FWHM, and the sensitivity was 0.283 cps/MBq. There was almost no performance degradation observed when the mirrors were positioned in front of the gamma camera. The developed system could measure the Ir-192 source positions in optical and gamma ray images. We conclude that the developed imaging system has the potential to measure the absolute position of an Ir-192 source in real-time clinical measurements.

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