Detection efficiency and imaging performance of a 25.4 × 25.4 × 24 mm³ compton camera based on a single voxelized scintillator

Conventional Compton cameras have FOV limitations that affect their detection efficiency. Three-dimensional voxelized detectors that integrate scattering and absorption functions address these limitations. This study demonstrates the enhancement of a Compton camera system by expanding the voxelized detector volume to increase its detection efficiency and reduce data acquisition time for reconstructing radiation sources. By doubling the size of a previous 4 × 4 × 4 voxel detector (12.6 × 12.6 × 12 mm³) to an 8 × 8 × 8 (25.4 × 25.4 × 24 mm³), both the angular resolution and signal-to-noise ratio were significantly improved. Simple back-projection and list-mode maximum likelihood estimation methods were used for image reconstruction, and the expanded system showed a significant decrease in measurement times by up to 20 times with equivalent image quality. This advancement is expected to provide substantial improvements in the deployment of lightweight and high-efficiency Compton cameras in unmanned measuring equipment, such as in drones, for various industrial applications.