Scintillator Array for Fast Cargo Radiation Scanning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current radiation detection systems are limited in inspection speed while maintaining accuracy, necessitating improvements in efficiency for quicker and non-invasive cargo inspections.
Innovation Solution
A radiation detection system utilizing scintillators with lengths greater than widths, coupled to a planar array of pixels, where the scintillators convert incoming radiation into light, which is received by the pixels to generate signals, and includes reflective material to enhance light collection and sampling strategies like the 'zoom mode' to reduce the number of sampled pixels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If radiation detectors use conventional detection methods, then inspection accuracy is maintained, but inspection speed is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The radiation detector is segmented into multiple scintillator elements arranged in an array, where each element corresponds to a specific region of the cargo. This segmentation allows parallel detection across multiple regions simultaneously, dramatically increasing inspection speed while maintaining the ability to resolve details in each segment for accurate detection
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from conventional single-point or linear detection to a two-dimensional array of scintillator elements coupled with a planar pixel array. This dimensional expansion enables simultaneous detection across a wide field of view, allowing the entire cargo cross-section to be imaged in a single measurement rather than requiring sequential scanning
2Productivity
If radiation detectors increase detection speed, then inspection efficiency improves, but detection accuracy may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The scintillator elements are pre-positioned in an array configuration with optical coupling to a pixel array detector, creating a ready-to-detect system that requires only radiation exposure to begin measurement. This preliminary arrangement eliminates the need for sequential scanning or mechanical movement during detection, enabling instantaneous capture of the entire field of view at full resolution
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates an optical copy of the radiation distribution pattern by using scintillator elements that convert incident radiation into visible light, which is then captured by a pixel array. This optical copying mechanism allows the entire radiation pattern to be replicated and recorded simultaneously across the detector plane, preserving spatial information for accurate image reconstruction without requiring sequential measurements
Data Source
AI summary
A system operable for detecting radiation to scan an object includes scintillators that have respective lengths that are greater than their respective widths and an imager that has a planar array of pixels. The scintillators are coupled to the imager with their respective longitudinal axes parallel to each other. An incoming radiation beam that has passed through the object enters the scintillators through respective surfaces of the scintillators that are transverse to the longitudinal axes, and is converted by the scintillators into light that is received by respective subsets of the planar array of pixels.