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Intelligent Radiation Detection Instrumentation and Measurement Techniques

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Intelligent Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2023) | Viewed by 4448

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Radiation sensing is important in many fields, and it poses significant challenges for sensing instrument designers. Radiation sensing instruments, particularly for nuclear decommissioning and security applications, are required to operate in unknown environments and should detect and characterise radiation fields in real-time. This Special Issue solicits recent advances in radiation sensing technology, with a particular focus on instrument design and deployment.

The issue will report on the latest developments in the use of ground-based and aerial robots in the deployment of such sensors. For example, robots reduce the need for manned entry into radioactive environments e.g. areas of high beta/gamma mixed wastes, a widespread problem in the context of UK nuclear power plants. These are challenging and unstructured environments for the deployment of robotic solutions.

This Special Issue will cover both theory and practice. Articles concerning, for example, radiation sensing instrument design, real-time data processing, radiation simulation and experimental work, robot design, control systems, task planning and radiation shielding will all be considered, among other relevant topics.

Prof. Dr. Kelum A.A. Gamage
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • radiation sensing technologies
  • radiation imaging
  • radiation characterisation techniques
  • nuclear reactors monitoring and control
  • remote handling of radioactive waste
  • mobile robots
  • robots for unstructured environments
  • decommissioning and remote handling
  • nuclear safeguards, homeland security
  • nuclear waste management

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 1056 KiB  
Article
Real-Time Temperature Correction of Medical Range Fiber Bragg Gratings Dosimeters
by Marie-Anne Lebel-Cormier, Tommy Boilard, Luc Beaulieu and Martin Bernier
Sensors 2023, 23(2), 886; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23020886 - 12 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1116
Abstract
The interest in fiber Bragg gratings dosimeters for radiotherapy dosimetry lies in their (i) submillimeter size, (ii) multi-points dose measurements, and (iii) customizable spatial resolution. However, since the radiation measurement relies on the thermal expansion of the surrounding polymer coating, such sensors are [...] Read more.
The interest in fiber Bragg gratings dosimeters for radiotherapy dosimetry lies in their (i) submillimeter size, (ii) multi-points dose measurements, and (iii) customizable spatial resolution. However, since the radiation measurement relies on the thermal expansion of the surrounding polymer coating, such sensors are strongly temperature dependent, which needs to be accounted for; otherwise, the errors on measurements can be higher than the measurements themselves. In this paper, we test and compare four techniques for temperature compensation: two types of dual grating techniques using different coatings, a pre-irradiation and post-irradiation temperature drift technique, which is used for calorimetry, and finally, we developed a real-time interpolated temperature gradient for the multi-points dosimetry technique. We show that, over these four tested techniques, the last one outperforms the others and allows for real-time temperature correction when an array of 13 fiber Bragg gratings spatially extending over the irradiation zone is used. For a 20 Gy irradiation, this technique reduces the measurement errors from 200% to about 10%, making it suitable for a radiotherapy dose range. Temperature correction for medical low-dose range dosimetry is a first in our field and is essential for clinical FBG dosimetry applications. Full article
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17 pages, 14621 KiB  
Article
Hybrid Detection of Breast Abnormalities Based on Contrast Agents: Introducing a Proof of Concept from a Physics Perspective
by Panagiotis Liaparinos
Sensors 2022, 22(19), 7514; https://doi.org/10.3390/s22197514 - 03 Oct 2022
Viewed by 1075
Abstract
This manuscript attempts to present a proof of concept from a physics perspective of a hybrid detective system based on the utilization of contrast agents with the purpose of indicating breast tissue abnormalities. In the present concept, the photon-counting module of the detector [...] Read more.
This manuscript attempts to present a proof of concept from a physics perspective of a hybrid detective system based on the utilization of contrast agents with the purpose of indicating breast tissue abnormalities. In the present concept, the photon-counting module of the detector is set up to the K-characteristic radiation emitted by the contrast agent. Τwo X-ray spectra were used: 40 kV- W/Al (1.6 mm) and 50 kV- W/Al (1.6 mm) with additional filtration of 0.3 mm Gd. Iodine (I) contrast agent was studied as a ‘‘fingerprint’’ for tissue abnormality indication. A computational Monte Carlo model, based on previously published validated tabulated data and tissue experimental measurements, was developed with the purpose of showing that the present concept has practical potential; however, with a weakness of not being accompanied by experimental validation. The study considered two types of internal tissue layers (fibrous/tumor with thickness values of 0.2–2.5 mm) within an external layer of fat tissue (4 and 8 cm). Quantitative (number of encountered K-photons) and qualitative (tumor–fibrous ratio) advantages of using X-ray spectra of a higher tube voltage (50 kV) and of counting the Κα photons were found. In addition, the quantitative and qualitative benefits were correspondingly more dominant at high (2.5 mm) and low (0.2 mm) tissue thickness values. In conclusion, by utilizing suitable contrast agents as ‘‘fingerprint’’ tissue abnormalities, the acquisition of combined morphological and functional imaging features (through the counting of K-X-rays) could enhance breast imaging in its present form and lead to advanced prognostic capabilities of breast abnormalities. Full article
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12 pages, 3388 KiB  
Article
Research on Calculation Method of Radiation Response Eigenvalue of a Single-Chip Active Pixel Sensor
by Zhiwei Qin, Shoulong Xu, Hanfeng Dong and Yongchao Han
Sensors 2022, 22(13), 4815; https://doi.org/10.3390/s22134815 - 25 Jun 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1113
Abstract
In this paper, we present a calculation method for the radiation response eigenvalue based on a monolithic active pixel sensor. By comparing the statistical eigenvalues of different regions of a pixel array in bright and dark environments, the linear relationship between the statistical [...] Read more.
In this paper, we present a calculation method for the radiation response eigenvalue based on a monolithic active pixel sensor. By comparing the statistical eigenvalues of different regions of a pixel array in bright and dark environments, the linear relationship between the statistical eigenvalues obtained by different algorithms and the radiation dose rate was studied. Additionally, a dose rate characterization method based on the analysis of the eigenvalues of the MAPS response signal was proposed. The experimental results show that in the dark background environment, the eigenvalues had a good linear response in the region of any gray value in the range of 10–30. In the color images, due to the difference in the background gray values in adjacent color regions, the radiation response signal in dark regions was confused with the image information in bright regions, resulting in the loss of response signal and affecting the analysis results of the radiation response signal. For the low dose rate radiation field, as the radiation response signal was too weak and there was background dark noise, it was necessary to accumulate frame images to obtain a sufficient response signal. For the intense radiation field, the number of response events in a single image was very high, and only two consecutive frames of image data needed to be accumulated to meet the statistical requirements. The binarization method had a good characterization effect for the radiation at a low dose rate, and the binarization processing and the total gray value statistics of the response data at a high dose rate could better characterize the radiation dose rate. The calibration experiment results show that the binarization processing method can meet the requirements of using a MAPS for wide-range detection. Full article
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