Device for the simultaneous detection, identification, quantification and/or localization of gamma radiation and neutron sources

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12259506-B2
Application number	US-202117924566-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 13, 2021
Priority date	May 14, 2020
Publication date	Mar 25, 2025
Grant date	Mar 25, 2025

Abstract

A mechanical collimator receives particles from a gamma radiation emission source and/or neutron emission source, a material that absorbs neutrons and is virtually transparent to gamma radiation A first detector includes a scintillator crystal with neutron-gamma discrimination capability and a position-sensitive photosensor, coupled to the mechanical collimator. One or more detector blocks have scintillator crystals of gamma or neutron-gamma radiation and position-sensitive photosensors, after the first detector, on a face opposite the mechanical collimator. A processing and acquisition module is connected to the detectors The device is suitable for use in inspections relating to nuclear safety, port safety, nuclear threats and accidents, and hadron-therapy treatments and nuclear medicine.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A device for simultaneous detection, identification, quantification and location of a gamma radiation source and a neutron source, the device comprising:
a mechanical collimator for neutrons that is transparent to gamma radiation, intended for being positioned in front of the gamma radiation source and neutron source, wherein the mechanical collimator is of a type selected from a pin-hole, slit, parallel hole, converging, diverging, multiple pin-hole and coded mask type mechanical collimator,
a detection module, comprising:
a first detector with neutron detection and/or gamma-neutron discrimination capability, coupled to the mechanical collimator,
one or more gamma radiation detectors, positioned after the first detector, on a face opposite the mechanical collimator,

wherein the first detector and the one or more gamma radiation detectors form a Compton camera;
a processing and acquisition module, associated with the first detector and with the gamma radiation detectors, and configured to select time-coincident events between detectors and to apply a Compton imaging technique.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device further comprises a visualisation module connected to the processing and acquisition module, configured for visualising a reconstructed image of the spatial location of gamma radiation emission source and/or of neutron source.

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the detection module further comprises an optical RGB or RGB-D (Red Green Blue-Depth) camera.

4. The device of claim 3 , wherein the optical camera further comprises Aruco type machine vision elements.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device further comprises a mechanism for mechanical modification of the focal distance of the mechanical collimator.

6. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device further comprises a mechanism for modification of the geometry and/or of the collimation aperture of the mechanical collimator.

7. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device further comprises one or more photosensors optically coupled to the first detector and/or to the gamma radiation detector.

8. The device of claim 7 , wherein the photosensors optically coupled to the first detector and/or to the gamma radiation detector are pixelated semiconductor type photosensors.

9. The device of claim 1 , wherein the gamma radiation detector comprises an inorganic scintillator crystal coupled to a semiconductor photosensor or to one or more pixelated photomultipliers.

10. The device of claim 1 , wherein the mechanical collimator can be uncoupled from the first detector.

11. The device of claim 1 , wherein the gamma radiation detector can be uncoupled from the first detector.

12. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device further comprises a mechanism for regulating the separation between the first detector and the gamma radiation detector.

13. The device of claim 1 , wherein the mechanical collimator is made of a material selected from 6 Li(CH 2 ) n , nat LiH, 6 LiH, 6 Li 2 CO 3 and 10 B—(CH 2 ) n .

14. The device of claim 1 , wherein one of the gamma radiation detectors is additionally sensitive to low-energy neutrons in the thermal neutron (0.025 eV) to slow neutron (eV) range.

15. The device of claim 1 , wherein one of the gamma radiation detectors presents neutron-gamma discrimination capability and is sensitive to high-energy neutrons (keV-tens of MeV).

16. The device of claim 1 , wherein the gamma radiation detector comprises a plurality of detectors parallel to one another in different planes.

17. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device further comprises a thermal camera associated with the processing and acquisition module.

18. A method for simultaneous detection, identification, quantification and/or location of gamma radiation and neutron sources, using a device that comprises:
a mechanical collimator for neutrons that is transparent to gamma radiation, intended for being positioned in front of a gamma radiation source and neutron source, wherein the mechanical collimator is of a type selected from a pin-hole, slit, parallel hole, converging, diverging, multiple pin-hole and coded mask type mechanical collimator,
a detection module, comprising:
a first detector with neutron detection and/or gamma-neutron discrimination capability, coupled to the mechanical collimator,
one or more gamma radiation detectors, positioned after the first detector, on a face opposite the mechanical collimator,
wherein the first detector and the one or more gamma radiation detectors form a Compton camera;

a processing and acquisition module, associated with the first detector and with the gamma radiation detectors, and configured to select time-coincident events between detectors and to apply a Compton imaging technique,

wherein the method comprises the steps of:
positioning the device in a scene to be inspected,
acquiring a count rate over a certain time in the detector module,
discriminating signals recorded in the first detector, identifying whether the signal is radiation gamma or a neutron,
imaging the neutron source with the signals recorded in the first detector,
processing signals recorded in the detector module identified as gamma radiation events and selecting events in time-coincidence for applying the Compton imaging technique,
imaging the gamma radiation source with the signals recorded in the detector module,
acquiring an optical image and/or photograph,
superimposing the obtained images to spatially locate the sources in the environment of the device based on visual references,
identifying neutrons and/or gamma particles from the signals recorded in the detector module, and
quantifying the activity of the neutron sources and of the gamma radiation sources from the recorded count rates and obtained images.

Assignees

• Consejo Superior Investigacion
• Univ Valencia

Inventors

• Lerendegui Marco Jorge
• Balibrea Correa Javier
• Domingo Pardo Cesar
• Caballero Ontanaya Luis
• Babiano Suarez Victor
• Ladarescu Palivan Ion

Classifications

• G01T1/24

  with semiconductor detectors · CPC title

• G01T1/202

  the detector being a crystal · CPC title

• G01T1/2018

  Scintillation-photodiode combinations · CPC title

• G01T1/1603

  with a combination of at least two different types of detectors · CPC title

• G01J5/0859

  Sighting arrangements, e.g. cameras · CPC title