A new real-time personal dosimeter with position monitoring based on a scintillator

Personal dosimeters are used to measure the amount of radiation exposure in individual radiation workers. We aimed to replace existing personal dosimeters and evaluate a real-time scintillator-based dosimeter by monitoring its radiation dose and checking the location exposed to radiation in the workspace. The developed dosimeter measured the radiation dose based on a scintillating fiber (SF) bundle, and comprised a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM), ultra-wide-band (UWB)-based location detecting system, and Bluetooth system. The SF bundle was exposed to radiation-emitted light, and the photons were amplified and converted to electrical signals through the SiPM. These signals were transferred to the user through the Bluetooth system and monitored. To evaluate the feasibility of this mechanism as a dosimeter, we performed characteristic tests, such as dose linearity, dependence on dose rate, energy, exposed angle, and location coordinate mapping. Also, the dose distribution formed in circles around the iso-center was measured to confirm the feasibility of monitoring the exposure dose and location and to enable the radiation worker to move freely in a workspace. We confirmed dose linearity, independence from energy and angle, and accuracy of location monitoring in our device. The user’s locations were measured with a difference of − 6 cm and − 4.8 cm on the x- and the y-axes, respectively. The measured doses on our developed dosimeter were 62.7, 32.3, 21.0, and 15.4 mSv at distances of 50, 100, 150, and 200 cm from the iso-center. In other words, all measured doses at several points showed an error within 5% as compared to doses provided by the conventional pocket dosimeter. These results show that the developed SF-based dosimeter is advantageous in monitoring the exposure dose and location in real time, and has significant potential as a new personal dosimeter for radiation workers.