Current status and optimization of handy compton camera using 3D position-sensitive scintillators

After the Japanese nuclear disaster in 2011, a large amount of radioactive isotopes was released and still remains a serious problem in Japan. To help identify radiation hotspots and ensure effective decontamination operation, we are developing a novel Compton camera weighing only 1.9 kg and measuring just 14×14×15 cm³ in size. Despite its compactness, the camera realizes a wide 180° field of vision, Δθ ~ 10°(FWHM) angular resolution, and offers excellent sensitivity that can image a hotspot producing a 5 μSv/h dose at a distance of three meters, every 10 sec. Our key technology using 3D position-sensitive scintillators coupled with thin monolithic MPPC arrays has made this innovation possible for the first time. In this paper, we present the detailed optimization and simulation of the Compton camera currently under production with Hamamatsu Photonics.