The disclosure is directed to an apparatus, system, and method for performing energy-resolved scatter imaging during radiation therapy upon a patient. The apparatus includes a radiation detector capable of resolving the energy of the scattered photons due to Compton scattering during radiation therapy. The radiation detector outputs a first signal when photon energy of the detected photons is within a first energy range and a second signal when photon energy of the detected photons is within a second energy range. The apparatus also includes an image controller configured to receive the first and second signal and obtain an energy-resolved scatter image data set. The energy-resolved scatter imaging improves the contrast and sensitivity for identification of different tissue types. Therefore, tumor tracking during radiation therapy and image guidance during radiotherapy are improved.

Described herein are systems and methods for positioning a radiation source with respect to one or more regions of interest in a coordinate system. Such systems and methods may be used in emission guided radiation therapy (EGRT) for the localized delivery of radiation to one or more patient tumor regions. These systems comprise a gantry movable about a patient area, where a plurality of positron emission detectors, a radiation source are arranged movably on the gantry, and a controller. The controller is configured to identify a coincident positron annihilation emission path and to position the radiation source to apply a radiation beam along the identified emission path. The systems and methods described herein can be used alone or in conjunction with surgery, chemotherapy, and/or brachytherapy for the treatment of tumors.

According to one general aspect, an apparatus may include a plurality of sensors configured to detect a presence of a source of radiation. The apparatus may include a garment configured to be worn by a user. The garment may include a plurality of tactile feedback devices configured to automatically indicate to the user, without intervention by the user, a direction of the source of radiation.

Disclosed is a directional gamma ray or neutron detector system that locates a radioactive source both horizontally and vertically. In some embodiments, the system comprises four side detectors arrayed around a detector axis, and an orthogonal front detector mounted frontward of the side detectors. Embodiments can calculate the azimuthal angle of the source based on the detection rates of the side detectors, while the polar angle of the source may be calculated from the front detector rate using a predetermined angular correlation function, thereby localizing the source from a single data set without iterative rotations. In applications such as hand-held survey meters, walk-through portals, vehicle cargo inspection stations, and mobile area scanners, embodiments enable rapid detection and precise localization of clandestine nuclear and radiological weapons.

A method and a device for the directional discrimination of penetrating charged particles uses a one-dimensional transparent dielectric column which is surrounded by a specular reflector. The column is coupled to a photon counter and is enclosed in a light baffle to exclude external photons. Penetrating charged particles passing through the column interact with the column electromagnetically, producing photons which internally reflect down the column and are counted by the photon counter. The penetration depth of the charged particles through the column is deduced from the photon count by application of theoretical means. The resulting penetration depth is geometrically fit within the dimensions of the column, yielding a discrimination of the variance of the charged particle's trajectory from the pointing direction of the column. In an embodiment, a particle's magnetic rigidity is ascertained by photon counting.

Disclosed is a system for updating a reference time from a decaying rotational period of a pulsar. The system can include: a database (DB) configured to store: coordinates for a pulsar; a recorded rate of rotation (RROR) for the pulsar; a rotational rate of decay (RROD) function for the pulsar; and a recorded reference time for the pulsar. A sensor can be configured to collect electromagnetic pulsar radiation from the pulsar and generate sensor data. A signal processor module can be configured to receive the sensor data, generate an observed rate of rotation (OROR) signal profile, generate a current rate of rotation (CROR) for the pulsar from the OROR signal profile, and update the RROR from the CROR. A time processor module can be configured to receive the RROD function and the CROR, and to solve the RROD function to output a reference time of the pulsar.

A device for determining the location of a source of radiation, based on data acquired at a single orientation of the device without iteration or rotations. Embodiments may comprise two side detector panels flanking a shield layer, plus a front detector positioned orthogonally in front of the side detectors. The various detectors thereby have contrasting angular sensitivities, so that a predetermined angular correlation function can determine the sign and magnitude of the source angle according to the detection rates. Rapid detection and localization of nuclear and radiological weapon materials enables greatly improved inspection of cargo containers and personnel. Advanced detectors such as those disclosed herein will be needed in the coming decades to protect against clandestine weapon transport.

A method and system for directional radiation detection. Two or more radiation detectors are attached to a user's body and the body acts to attenuate radiation passing through the body, such that radiation striking a detector without first passing through the body has a greater intensity than radiation striking a detector after passing through the user. Intensity differences between radiation received at different detectors is thereby used to determine a direction from the user to the radiation source.

A system of particle detectors can determine the location of a source without rotations or iterations. Embodiments of the system may include a middle detector flanked by two side detector panels, without shields or collimators. The middle detector may be positioned toward the front and orthogonal to the side detectors. By comparing a ratio of the detector data to a predetermined angular correlation function, the system can determine both the sign and magnitude of the source angle in real-time. Embodiments of the system can rapidly and automatically localize sources including industrial, medical, and other benign sources as well as nuclear and radiological weapons materials, whether in vehicles or cargo containers, and can provide improved sensitivity in walk-through personnel portal applications, enable enhanced detection of hidden weapons by a mobile area scanner, and enable a hand-held survey meter that indicates the radiation level as well as the location of the source of radiation.

A device configured to detect particles from a radioactive source can localize the source in two dimension, such as the azimuthal and polar angles of the source. Embodiments of the device may comprise a hollow cylindrical or tubular array of side detector panels, plus a central detector positioned within the array, with no shield or collimator. The various side detector counting rates can indicate the azimuthal angle of the source, while the polar angle can be determined by a ratio of the side detector data divided by the central detector data. Embodiments of the directional detector device can provide greatly improved inspections, thereby detecting clandestine nuclear and radiological weapons, or other sources that are to be localized, rapidly and precisely.