Abstract A two-dimensional readout system has been provided for reading out locations of scintillations produced in a scintillation type radiation detector array wherein strips of scintillator material are arranged in a parallel planar array. Two sets of light guides are placed perpendicular to the scintillator strips, one on the top and one on the bottom to extend in alignment across the strips. Both the top and bottom guides are composed of a number of 90* triangular prisms with the lateral side forming the hypotenuse equal to twice the width of a scintillator strip. The prism system reflects light from a scintillation along one of the strips back and forth through adjacent strips to light pipes coupled to the outermost strips of the detector array which transmit light pulses to appropriate detectors to determine the scintillation along one axis. Other light pipes are connected to the end portions of the strips to transmit light from the individual strips to appropriate light detectors to indicate the particular strip activated, thereby determining the position of a scintillation along the other axis. The number of light guide pairs may be equal the number of the scintillation strips when equal spatial resolution for each of the two coordinates is desired. When the scintillator array detects an event which produces a scintillation along one of the strips, the emitted light travels along four different paths, two of which are along the strip, and two of which are through the light guide pair perpendicular to the strips until all four beams reach the outer edges of the array where they may be transmitted to light detectors by means of light pipes connected therebetween according to a binary code for direct digital readout.
A two-dimensional readout system for reading out locations of scintillations produced in a single layer array of scintillators for spatial detection of nuclear radiation, comprising: a plurality of uniform width scintillator strips disposed in a parallel planar array to form a block having opposing parallel radiation-receiving surfaces; a plurality of sets of light guides disposed adjacent said strips on said opposing surfaces of said block in adjacent rows perpendicular to said strips so that like rows at said opposite surfaces of said block are aligned and form one of said sets of light guides each of which includes, a plurality of Porro prisms aligned in a corresponding one of said rows across said strips and having their lateral side forming the hypotenuse bonDed to said strips so as to overlap substantial portions of adjacent strips and aligned so as to reflect light produced by a scintillation in one of said strips back and forth progressively through adjacent strips to the outermost oppositely disposed strips to indicate the row in which a scintillation occurred within said block; and means responsive to light pulses received at the ends of said strips and the ends of said rows of light guides for indicating the position of a scintillation within said array produced by a radiation event detected within said scintillator array.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
218 words
A two-dimensional readout system for reading out locations of scintillations produced in a single layer array of scintillators for spatial detection of nuclear radiation, comprising: a plurality of uniform width scintillator strips disposed in a parallel planar array to form a block having opposing parallel radiation-receiving surfaces; a plurality of sets of light guides disposed adjacent said strips on said opposing surfaces of said block in adjacent rows perpendicular to said strips so that like rows at said opposite surfaces of said block are aligned and form one of said sets of light guides each of which includes, a plurality of Porro prisms aligned in a corresponding one of said rows across said strips and having their lateral side forming the hypotenuse bonDed to said strips so as to overlap substantial portions of adjacent strips and aligned so as to reflect light produced by a scintillation in one of said strips back and forth progressively through adjacent strips to the outermost oppositely disposed strips to indicate the row in which a scintillation occurred within said block; and means responsive to light pulses received at the ends of said strips and the ends of said rows of light guides for indicating the position of a scintillation within said array produced by a radiation event detected within said scintillator array.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
40 words
The system of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of light opaque barriers disposed between adjacent ones of said scintillator strips so as to prevent light transmissions within the plane of said array in a direction perpendicular to said strips.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
36 words
The system of claim 2 wherein each of said prisms has a width equal to twice the width of one of said scintillator strips and a length equal to the desired spatial resolution along said rows.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
100 words
The system as set forth in claim 3 wherein said prisms forming one of said sets of light guides are aligned so that the prisms disposed on one of said opposing surfaces of said block are offset by a distance equal to the width of one of said strips with respect to the prisms disposed on the other of said opposing surfaces of said block so that light pulses from a scintillation occurring in a row along one of said strips undergo multiple total reflections along the multiple prism light guide sets to the opposite ends of the corresponding row.