• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제50권6호
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• pp.923-928
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• 2018

We developed a compact gamma camera based on a modified uniformly redundant array coded aperture to investigate the position of a $UO_2$ pellet emitting characteristic X-rays (98.4 keV) and ${\gamma}-rays$ (185.7 keV). Experiments using an only-mask method and an antimask subtractive method were conducted, and the maximum-likelihood expectation maximization algorithm was used for image reconstruction. The images obtained via the antimask subtractive method were compared with those obtained using the only-mask method with regard to the signal-to-noise ratio. The reconstructed images of the antimask subtractive method were superior. The reconstructed images of the characteristic X-rays and the ${\gamma}-rays$ were combined with the obtained image using the optical camera. The combined images showed the precise position of the $UO_2$ pellet. According to the self-absorption ratios of the nuclear material and the minimum number of effective events for image reconstruction, we estimated the minimum detection time depending on the amount of nuclear material.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권4호
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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.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제29권4호
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• pp.257-261
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• 2004

핀홀 감마카메라의 민감도를 향상시키기 위하여 픽셀화된 CsI(Tl) 섬광체와 위치민감형 광증배관을 이용하여 부호화 구경 감마카메라를 개발하였다. Rounded-hole로 이루어진 $13{\times}11$ 픽셀구조의 개조된 uniformly reductant array (URA) 가 계측기의 공간해상도를 고려하여 부호화된 마스크로 선택되었다. 부호화된 구경 카메라와 핀홀 카메라의 성능을 비교하기 위하여 Tc-99m 소스의 여러 가지 형태를 이용하여 테스트 하였으며, 신호 대 잡음비 또는 민감도의 향상에 대한 카메라의 성능을 분석하였다. 그 결과 공간해 상도에 있어서 약간의 저하가 있었으나 영상의 질은 매우 향상되었다. 비록 카메라의 개발과 테스트가 저에너지 영역에서 이루어졌지만, 부호화 구경 카메라의 구상은 방사성 물질 감시 그리고 다른 응용들에 있어서도 효과적으로 사용되어질 수 있을 것이다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권7호
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• pp.2371-2376
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• 2021

As the γ-ray energy increases, a reconstructed image becomes noisy and blurred due to the penetration of the γ-ray through the coded mask. Therefore, the thickness of the coded mask was increased for high energy regions, resulting in severely decreased the performance of the detection efficiency due to self-collimation by the mask. In order to overcome the limitation, a modified uniformly redundant array γ-ray imaging system using dual anti-mask method was developed, and its performance was compared and evaluated in high-energy radiation region. In the dual anti-mask method, the two shadow images, including the subtraction of background events, can simultaneously contribute to the reconstructed image. Moreover, the reconstructed images using each shadow image were integrated using a hybrid update maximum likelihood expectation maximization (h-MLEM). Using the quantitative evaluation method, the performance of the dual anti-mask method was compared with the previously developed collimation methods. As the shadow image which was subtracted the background events leads to a higher-quality reconstructed image, the reconstructed image of the dual anti-mask method showed high performance among the three collimation methods. Finally, the quantitative evaluation method proves that the performance of the dual anti-mask method was better than that of the previously reconstruction methods.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권8호
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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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• 제6권1호
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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.

• 한국의학물리학회지:의학물리
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• 제19권4호
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• pp.247-255
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• 2008

부호화 구경 카메라는 바늘구멍 카메라의 고분해능 특성을 유지하면서 신호대잡음비를 향상시키기 위해 개발되었다. 이 연구의 목적은 몬테칼로 모사방법을 이용하여 부호화 구경 카메라의 최적화 및 성능 분석을 통해 갑상선 영상의 가능성을 평가하는 것이다. GATE 코드를 이용하여 부호화 구경의 두께에 따른 부호화 구경 카메라의 Tc-99 m 선원에 대한 공간분해능, 신호대잡음비, 균일도를 평가하였다. 그리고 부호화 구경 카메라와 바늘구멍 카메라의 영상 획득 성능을 비교하였다. 연구 결과 부호화 구경 마스크 두께에 따른 분해능 차이는 거의 없었으나, 신호대잡음비는 구경 두께가 두꺼워질수록 향상되어 최고값을 보인 뒤 다시 감소하는 추세를 보였다. 이는 두께에 따른 마스크의 투과율과 관계가 있었다. 균일도는 구경 두께가 두꺼워질수록 성능이 향상하였다. 부호화 구경 카메라의 공간분해능은 바늘구멍 카메라와 거의 비슷하였으나, 신호대잡음비는 약 30배 정도 향상되는 것을 확인하였고, 이는 부호화 구경 카메라로 고분해능, 고 신호대잡음비의 갑상선 영상 획득이 가능함을 보여준다.