The use of gamma-cameras has become the norm when it comes to locating radioactive substances on nuclear sites and reducing personnel dosimetry, while increasing global operational efficiency. The level of what the NuVISION gamma-camera can achieve opens a whole range of new perspectives, such as reinforcing standard radioactivity-detection schemes for nuclear safety purposes, for instance during major public events.

 

Various kinds of radiation detection instruments are available and are widely used as integrated measurement techniques in operational concepts and procedures; however, they are not ideal, notably because they are incapable of identifying and remotely locating radiological risks. The NuVISION gamma-camera is a ground-breaking piece of equipment that offers a combination of new functionalities to reinforce the existing architecture, particularly as part of nuclear safety monitoring, in non-regulatory control situations, on the occasion of major public gatherings or to secure strategic sites (including related emergency response measures).

 

Using the IAEA nuclear safety standards as a basis, we defined an approach to introduce gamma-cameras in the existing detection architectures, by identifying the most relevant detection targets as well as the areas where the characteristics of the gamma-camera could bring the most substantial improvement compared to current measurements. The approach chosen offers solutions to complete existing nuclear safety and security measures and increase coverage of the most important risks. Using the latest generation of the NuVISION gamma-camera, as supplementary technical support, can considerably improve operational constraints in certain cases, and/or supply an extra level of protection in "Defence In-Depth" approaches.

 

The NuVISION gamma-camera is capable of localising at a distance fixed or mobile radioactive sources, identifying the type of radioactive agent and giving a precise estimation of the dose-rate in the risk zone concerned. This is a major breakthrough that compensates for the deficiencies of current detection architectures.