METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR COMPUTER TOMOGRAPHY OF NUCLEAR ISOTOPES USING NUCLEAR RESONANCE FLUORESCENCE

• US 20090196397A1
• Filed: 12/29/2008
• Published: 08/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Passport Systems Inc.
• Original Assignee: Passport Systems Inc.
• Inventors: Bertozzi, William, Ledoux, Robert J.
• Application Number:
  US12/344,880
• Publication Number:
  US 20090196397A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 378/87
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2223/419 computed tomograph
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2223/5015 linear array
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2223/639 material in a container
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 23/046 using tomography, e.g. computed tomography [CT]

Abstract

The transmission of photons through a target produces “holes” in the transmitted energy spectrum that are characteristic of the NRF energies of the nuclear isotopes in the target. Measuring the absorption via the transmission of these photons through a target allows the production of tomographic images that are associated with specific nuclear isotopes. Thus three-dimensional density patterns are generated for the elements in a container. The process is very much like standard X-ray tomography but it identifies specific nuclear isotopes as well as their densities.

Claims

1. A method of determining and displaying three dimensional images of presences of at least one specified nuclear isotope in at least a portion of a target of interest, comprising:

a) illuminating at least a part of the target with an incident photon beam within a predetermined energy range,

wherein the incident photon beam comprises photons traveling in at least one first predetermined direction which impinge upon the target at least one first predetermined surface location, and

wherein the predetermined energy range includes energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in each of the at least one specified nuclear isotopes and energies at which it cannot;

b) detecting in a transmission detector array a plurality of photons from said incident photon beam,

wherein the transmission detector array is disposed such that at least a portion of said incident photon beam traversing the target is incident on the array, and

wherein the transmission detector array determines an energy of at least some photons incident on it with accuracy to permit determination of whether the said photon energy corresponds to an energy at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place from one of the at least one specified nuclear isotope;

c) repeating steps a) and b) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations;

d) based upon numbers of photons detected in the transmission detector array, with energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place from each of the at least one specified nuclear isotope, determining through use of tomographic computation methods the three dimensional image of the presence of each of the at least one specified nuclear isotope in at least the portion of the target of interest; and

e) displaying the three dimensional images on an output device to a user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmission detector array comprises high purity germanium.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the incident photon beam is a bremsstrahlung beam.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the incident photon beam is generated by a method chosen from the group consisting of neutron capture, proton capture reactions, laser back scattering and resonant scattering of photons.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the repetition of steps a) and b) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations comprises:

c-1) choosing additional directions and surface locations such that a slice of at least the portion of the target of interest is imaged; and

c-2) repeating step c-1) for additional slices of the at least the portion of the target of interest.

6. A method of determining and displaying a three dimensional image of a presence of a specified nuclear isotope in at least a portion of a target of interest, comprising:

a) illuminating at least a part of the target with an incident photon beam within a predetermined energy range,

wherein the incident photon beam comprises photons traveling in at least one first predetermined direction which impinge upon the target at least one first predetermined surface location, and

wherein the predetermined energy range includes energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in the specified nuclear isotope and energies at which it cannot;

b) detecting in a transmission detector array a plurality of photons from said incident photon beam,

wherein the transmission detector array is disposed such that at least a portion of said incident photon beam traversing the target is incident on the array, and

wherein the transmission detector array determines an energy of at least some photons incident on it with accuracy to permit determination of whether the said photon energy corresponds to an energy at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place from the specified nuclear isotope;

c) repeating steps a) and b) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations;

d) based upon numbers of photons detected in the transmission detector array, with energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place from the specified nuclear isotope, and numbers detected with energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering cannot take place from the specified nuclear isotope, for a given direction and surface location, determining through use of tomographic computation methods the three dimensional image of the presence of the specified nuclear isotope in at least the portion of the target of interest; and

e) displaying the three dimensional image on an output device to a user.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the transmission detector array comprises high purity germanium.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the incident photon beam is a bremsstrahlung beam.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the incident photon beam is generated by a method chosen from the group consisting of neutron capture, proton capture reactions, laser back scattering and resonant scattering of photons.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the repetition of steps a) and b) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations comprises:

c-1) choosing additional directions and surface locations such that a slice of at least the portion of the target of interest is imaged; and

c-2) repeating step c-1) for additional slices of the at least the portion of the target of interest.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the predetermined energy range includes energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in at least one additional specified nuclear isotope and energies at which it cannot,

wherein the transmission detector array determines an energy of at least some photons incident on it with accuracy to permit determination of whether the said photon energy corresponds to an energy at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place from the at least one additional specified nuclear isotope;

and

further comprising, based upon numbers of photons detected in the transmission detector array, with energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place from the at least one additional specified nuclear isotope, and numbers detected with energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering cannot take place from the at least one additional specified nuclear isotope, for a given direction and surface location, determining through use of tomographic computation methods three dimensional images of the presence of each of the at least one additional specified nuclear isotope in at least the portion of the target of interest; and

further comprising, displaying the three dimensional images on an output device to a user.

12. A method of determining and displaying a three dimensional image of a presence of a specified nuclear isotope in at least a portion of a target of interest, comprising:

a) illuminating at least a part of the target with an incident photon beam within a predetermined energy range,

wherein the incident photon beam comprises photons traveling in at least one first predetermined direction which impinge upon the target at least one first predetermined surface location, and

wherein the predetermined energy range includes energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in the specified nuclear isotope and energies at which it cannot;

b) detecting in at least one detector array a plurality of photons produced by nuclear resonance fluorescence in a first reference scatterer array;

wherein the first reference scatterer array comprises the specified nuclear isotope,

wherein the first reference scatterer array is disposed such that at least a portion of said incident photon beam traversing the target is incident on the array, and

wherein the detector array is disposed such that at least some photons scattered from the first reference scatterer array by nuclear resonance fluorescence are incident on the detector array;

c) repeating steps a) and b) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations;

d) based upon numbers of photons detected in the detector array, for a given direction and surface location, determining through use of tomographic computation methods the three dimensional image of the presence of the specified nuclear isotope in at least the portion of the target of interest; and

e) displaying the three dimensional image on an output device to a user.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the incident photon beam is a bremsstrahlung beam.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the incident photon beam is generated by a method chosen from the group consisting of neutron capture, proton capture reactions, laser back scattering and resonant scattering of photons.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the repetition of steps a) and b) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations comprises:

c-1) choosing additional directions and surface locations such that a slice of at least the portion of the target of interest is imaged; and

c-2) repeating step c-1) for additional slices of the at least the portion of the target of interest.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the predetermined energy range includes energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in at least one additional specified nuclear isotope and energies at which it cannot, and further comprising:

b-1) detecting in at least one additional detector array a plurality of photons produced by nuclear resonance fluorescence in at least one additional reference scatterer array;

wherein each additional reference scatterer array comprises one of the at least one additional specified nuclear isotopes,

wherein each additional reference scatterer array is disposed such that at least a portion of said incident photon beam traversing the target and impinging upon and traversing the first reference scatterer array is incident on the array, and

wherein each of the at least one additional detector arrays is disposed such that at least some photons scattered from one of the additional reference scatterer arrays by nuclear resonance fluorescence are incident on the detector array;

c-1) repeating step b-1) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations;

d-1) for each additional detector array, based upon numbers of photons detected in each said array, for a given direction and surface location, determining through use of tomographic computation methods a three dimensional image of the presence of one of the additional specified nuclear isotopes in at least the portion of the target of interest; and

e-1) displaying the three dimensional images on an output device to a user.

17. A method of determining and displaying a three dimensional image of a presence of a specified nuclear isotope in at least a portion of a target of interest, comprising:

a) illuminating at least a part of the target with an incident photon beam within a predetermined energy range,

wherein the incident photon beam comprises photons traveling in at least one first predetermined direction which impinge upon the target at least one first predetermined surface location, and

wherein the predetermined energy range includes energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in the specified nuclear isotope and energies at which it cannot;

b) detecting in at least one detector array a plurality of photons produced by nuclear resonance fluorescence in a reference scatterer array;

wherein the reference scatterer array comprises the specified nuclear isotope,

wherein the reference scatterer array is disposed such that at least a portion of said incident photon beam traversing the target is incident on the array, and

wherein the detector array is disposed such that at least some photons scattered from the reference scatterer array by nuclear resonance fluorescence are incident on the detector array;

c) detecting in a transmission detector array a plurality of photons from said incident photon beam,

wherein the transmission detector array is disposed such that at least a portion of said incident photon beam traversing the target and impinging upon and traversing the reference scatterer array is incident on the transmission detector array;

d) repeating steps a), b) and c) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations;

d) based upon numbers of photons detected in the detector array, and the transmission detector array, for a given direction and surface location, determining through use of tomographic computation methods the three dimensional image of the presence of the specified nuclear isotope in at least the portion of the target of interest; and

e) displaying the three dimensional image on an output device to a user.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the incident photon beam is a bremsstrahlung beam.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the incident photon beam is generated by a method chosen from the group consisting of neutron capture, proton capture reactions, laser back scattering and resonant scattering of photons.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the repetition of steps a), b) and c) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations comprises:

d-1) choosing additional directions and surface locations such that a slice of at least the portion of the target of interest is imaged; and

d-2) repeating step d-1) for additional slices of the at least the portion of the target of interest.

21. A method of determining and displaying three dimensional images of presences of at least one specified nuclear isotope in at least a portion of a target of interest, comprising:

a) illuminating at least a part of the target with an incident photon beam within a predetermined energy range,

wherein the incident photon beam comprises photons traveling in at least one first predetermined direction which impinge upon the target at least one first predetermined surface location, and

wherein the predetermined energy range includes energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in each of the at least one specified nuclear isotopes and energies at which it cannot;

b) detecting in at least one detector array a plurality of photons produced by nuclear resonance fluorescence in a reference scatterer array;

wherein the reference scatterer array comprises each of the at least one specified nuclear isotopes,

wherein the reference scatterer array is disposed such that at least a portion of said incident photon beam traversing the target is incident on the array, and

wherein the detector array is disposed such that at least some photons scattered from the reference scatterer array by nuclear resonance fluorescence are incident on the detector array;

wherein the detector array determines an energy of at least some photons incident on it with accuracy to permit determination of whether the said photon energy corresponds to an energy at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place from one of the at least one specified nuclear isotope;

c) repeating steps a) and b) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations;

d) based upon numbers and energies of photons detected in the detector array, for a given direction and surface location, determining through use of tomographic computation methods the three dimensional images of the presence of each of the at least one specified nuclear isotope in at least the portion of the target of interest; and

e) displaying the three dimensional images on an output device to a user.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the incident photon beam is a bremsstrahlung beam.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the incident photon beam is generated by a method chosen from the group consisting of neutron capture, proton capture reactions, laser back scattering and resonant scattering of photons.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the repetition of steps a) and b) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations comprises:

c-1) choosing additional directions and surface locations such that a slice of at least the portion of the target of interest is imaged; and

c-2) repeating step c-1) for additional slices of the at least the portion of the target of interest.

25. A method of determining and displaying a three dimensional image of a presence of a first specified nuclear isotope in at least a portion of a target of interest, comprising:

a) illuminating at least a part of the target with an incident photon beam within a predetermined energy range,

wherein the incident photon beam comprises photons traveling in at least one first predetermined direction which impinge upon the target at least one first predetermined surface location, and

wherein the predetermined energy range includes energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in the first specified nuclear isotope and energies at which it cannot;

b) detecting in at least one primary detector array a plurality of photons produced by nuclear resonance fluorescence in a first reference scatterer array;

wherein the first reference scatterer array comprises the specified first nuclear isotope,

wherein the first reference scatterer array is disposed such that at least a portion of said incident photon beam traversing the target is incident on the first array, and

wherein the primary detector array is disposed such that at least some photons scattered from the first reference scatterer array by nuclear resonance fluorescence are incident on the primary detector array;

c) detecting in at least one secondary detector array a plurality of photons produced by nuclear resonance fluorescence in a second reference scatterer array;

wherein the second reference scatterer array comprises a specified second nuclear isotope,

wherein nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in the second nuclear isotope with photons at energies in the predetermined energy range,

wherein the specified second nuclear isotope is not present in the target in a substantial amount, or the quantity and distribution of the specified second nuclear isotope in the target is known,

wherein the second reference scatterer array is disposed such that at least a portion of said incident photon beam traversing the target, and impinging upon and traversing the first reference scatterer array, is incident on the second array, and

wherein the secondary detector array is disposed such that at least some photons scattered from the secondary reference scatterer array by nuclear resonance fluorescence are incident on the secondary detector array;

d) repeating steps a), b) and c) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations;

e) based upon numbers of photons detected in the primary detector array and the secondary detector array, for a given direction and surface location, determining through use of tomographic computation methods the three dimensional image of the presence of the first specified nuclear isotope in at least the portion of the target of interest; and

f) displaying the three dimensional image on an output device to a user.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the incident photon beam is a bremsstrahlung beam.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the incident photon beam is generated by a method chosen from the group consisting of neutron capture, proton capture reactions, laser back scattering and resonant scattering of photons.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the repetition of steps a), b) and c) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations comprises:

d-1) choosing additional directions and surface locations such that a slice of at least the portion of the target of interest is imaged; and

d-2) repeating step d-1) for additional slices of the at least the portion of the target of interest.

29. A method of determining and displaying a three dimensional image of a presence of a specified nuclear isotope in at least a portion of a target of interest, comprising:

a) illuminating at least a part of the target with an incident photon beam within a predetermined energy range,

wherein the incident photon beam comprises photons traveling in at least one first predetermined direction which impinge upon the target at least one first predetermined surface location, and

wherein the predetermined energy range comprises energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in the specified nuclear isotope;

b) detecting in a transmission detector array a plurality of photons from said incident photon beam,

wherein the transmission detector array is disposed such that at least a portion of said incident photon beam traversing the target is incident on the array;

c) repeating steps a) and b) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations;

d) based upon numbers of photons detected in the transmission detector array, for a given direction and surface location, determining through use of tomographic computation methods the three dimensional image of the presence of the specified nuclear isotope in at least the portion of the target of interest; and

e) displaying the three dimensional image on an output device to a user.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the incident photon beam is generated by a method chosen from the group consisting of neutron capture, proton capture reactions, laser back scattering and resonant scattering of photons.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein the repetition of steps a) and b) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations comprises:

c-1) choosing additional directions and surface locations such that a slice of at least the portion of the target of interest is imaged; and

c-2) repeating step c-1) for additional slices of the at least the portion of the target of interest.

32. The method of claim 29, wherein the predetermined energy range is limited to energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in the specified nuclear isotope.

33. A method of determining and displaying a three dimensional image of a presence of a specified nuclear isotope in at least a portion of a target of interest, comprising:

a) illuminating at least a part of the target with an incident photon beam within a first predetermined energy range,

wherein the incident photon beam comprises photons traveling in at least one first predetermined direction which impinge upon the target at least one first predetermined surface location, and

wherein the first predetermined energy range comprises energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in the specified nuclear isotope;

b) detecting in a transmission detector array a plurality of photons from said incident photon beam,

wherein the transmission detector array is disposed such that at least a portion of said incident photon beam traversing the target is incident on the array;

c) repeating steps a) and b) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations;

d) repeating steps a), b) and c) for a second predetermined energy range,

wherein the second predetermined energy range is limited to energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering cannot take place in the specified nuclear isotope;

e) based upon numbers of photons detected in the transmission detector array, when photons of the first energy range were used, and numbers detected when photons of the second energy range were used, for a given direction and surface location, determining through use of tomographic computation methods the three dimensional image of the presence of the specified nuclear isotope in at least the portion of the target of interest; and

f) displaying the three dimensional image on an output device to a user.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the incident photon beam within the first predetermined energy range is generated by a method chosen from the group consisting of neutron capture, proton capture reactions, laser back scattering and resonant scattering of photons.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein the repetition of steps a) and b) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations comprises:

c-1) choosing additional directions and surface locations such that a slice of at least the portion of the target of interest is imaged; and

c-2) repeating step c-1) for additional slices of the at least the portion of the target of interest.

36. The method of claim 33, wherein the first predetermined energy range is limited to energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in the specified nuclear isotope.

37. A method of determining and displaying three dimensional images of presences of a plurality of specified nuclear isotopes in at least a portion of a target of interest, comprising:

a) illuminating at least a part of the target with an incident photon beam comprising photons within at least two predetermined energy ranges,

wherein the incident photon beam comprises photons traveling in at least one first predetermined direction which impinge upon the target at least one first predetermined surface location,

wherein each predetermined energy range comprises energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in one of the plurality of specified nuclear isotopes,

b) detecting in a transmission detector array a plurality of photons from said incident photon beam,

wherein the transmission detector array is disposed such that at least a portion of said incident photon beam traversing the target is incident on the array, and

wherein the transmission detector array determines an energy of at least some photons incident on it with accuracy to permit determination of whether the said photon energy corresponds to an energy at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place from one of the plurality of specified nuclear isotopes;

c) repeating steps a) and b) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations;

d) based upon numbers of photons detected in the transmission detector array, with energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place from each of the plurality of specified nuclear isotopes, for a given direction and surface location, determining through use of tomographic computation methods the three dimensional images of the presence of each of the plurality of specified nuclear isotopes in at least the portion of the target of interest; and

e) displaying the three dimensional images on an output device to a user.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the incident photon beam within the first predetermined energy range is generated by a method chosen from the group consisting of neutron capture, proton capture reactions, laser back scattering and resonant scattering of photons.

39. The method of claim 37, wherein the transmission detector array comprises high purity germanium.

40. The method of claim 37, wherein the repetition of steps a) and b) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations comprises:

c-1) choosing additional directions and surface locations such that a slice of at least the portion of the target of interest is imaged; and

c-2) repeating step c-1) for additional slices of the at least the portion of the target of interest.

41. A method of determining and displaying a three dimensional image of a presence of a specified nuclear isotope in at least a portion of a target of interest, comprising:

a) illuminating at least a part of the target with an incident photon beam comprising photons within a first predetermined energy range and photons within a second predetermined energy range,

wherein the incident photon beam comprises photons traveling in at least one first predetermined direction which impinge upon the target at least one first predetermined surface location,

wherein the first predetermined energy range comprises energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in the specified nuclear isotope, and

wherein the second predetermined energy range is limited to energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering cannot take place in the specified nuclear isotope;

b) detecting in a transmission detector array a plurality of photons from said incident photon beam,

wherein the transmission detector array is disposed such that at least a portion of said incident photon beam traversing the target is incident on the array, and

wherein the transmission detector array determines an energy of at least some photons incident on it with accuracy to permit determination of whether the said photon energy corresponds to an energy at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place from the specified nuclear isotope;

c) repeating steps a) and b) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations;

d) based upon numbers of photons detected in the transmission detector array, with energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place from the specified nuclear isotope, and numbers detected with energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering cannot take place from the specified nuclear isotope, for a given direction and surface location, determining through use of tomographic computation methods the three dimensional image of the presence of the specified nuclear isotope in at least the portion of the target of interest; and

e) displaying the three dimensional image on an output device to a user.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the incident photon beam within the first predetermined energy range is generated by a method chosen from the group consisting of neutron capture, proton capture reactions, laser back scattering and resonant scattering of photons.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein the transmission detector array comprises high purity germanium.

44. The method of claim 41, wherein the repetition of steps a) and b) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations comprises:

c-1) choosing additional directions and surface locations such that a slice of at least the portion of the target of interest is imaged; and

c-2) repeating step c-1) for additional slices of the at least the portion of the target of interest.

45. The method of claim 41, wherein the first predetermined energy range is limited to energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in the specified nuclear isotope.

46. A method of determining and displaying a three dimensional image of a presence of a specified nuclear isotope in at least a portion of a target of interest, comprising:

a) illuminating at least a part of the target with an incident photon beam comprising photons within a first predetermined energy range,

wherein the incident photon beam comprises photons traveling in at least one first predetermined direction which impinge upon the target at least one first predetermined surface location, and

wherein said first predetermined energy range corresponds to energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in the specified nuclear isotope;

b) detecting in at least one detector array a plurality of photons produced by nuclear resonance fluorescence in a reference scatterer array;

wherein the reference scatterer array comprises the specified nuclear isotope,

wherein the reference scatterer array is disposed such that at least a portion of said incident photon beam traversing the target is incident on the array, and

wherein the detector array is disposed such that at least some photons scattered from the reference scatterer array by nuclear resonance fluorescence are incident on the detector array;

c) repeating steps a) and b) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations;

d) based upon numbers of photons detected in the detector array, for a given direction and surface location, determining through use of tomographic computation methods three dimensional image of the presence of the specified nuclear isotope in at least the portion of the target of interest; and

e) displaying the three dimensional image on an output device to a user.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein the incident photon beam in the first predetermined energy range is generated by a method chosen from the group consisting of neutron capture, proton capture reactions, laser back scattering and resonant scattering of photons.

48. The method of claim 46, further comprising repeating steps a), b) and c) for at least one additional predetermined energy range, wherein each additional predetermined energy range comprises energies at which nuclear resonance fluorescence scattering can take place in an additional specified nuclear isotope,

wherein each said additional photon energy range comprises energies at which nuclear resonance fluorescence scattering can take place in an additional specified nuclear isotope, and

wherein the reference scatterer further comprises each said additional specified nuclear isotope, and

further comprising, based upon numbers of photons detected in the detector array, for a given direction and surface location, for each additional predetermined energy range determining through use of tomographic computation methods a three dimensional image of the presence of one of the additional specified nuclear isotopes in at least the portion of the target of interest;

and

further comprising, displaying the said three dimensional images on an output device to a user.

49. A method of determining and displaying a three dimensional image of a presence of a specified nuclear isotope in at least a portion of a target of interest, comprising:

a) illuminating at least a part of the target with an incident photon beam comprising photons within a predetermined energy range,

wherein the incident photon beam comprises photons traveling in at least one first predetermined direction which impinge upon the target at least one first predetermined surface location, and

wherein said predetermined energy range comprises energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in the specified nuclear isotope;

b) detecting in at least one detector array a plurality of photons produced by nuclear resonance fluorescence in a reference scatterer array;

wherein the reference scatterer array comprises the specified nuclear isotope,

wherein the reference scatterer array is disposed such that at least a portion of said incident photon beam traversing the target is incident on the array,

wherein the detector array determines an energy of at least some photons incident on it with accuracy to permit determination of whether the said photon energy corresponds to an energy at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place from the specified nuclear isotope; and

wherein the detector array is disposed such that at least some photons scattered from the reference scatterer array by nuclear resonance fluorescence are incident on the detector array;

c) repeating steps a) and b) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations;

d) based upon numbers and energies of photons detected in the detector array, for a given direction and surface location, determining through use of tomographic computation methods a three dimensional image of the presence of the specified nuclear isotope in at least the portion of the target of interest; and

e) displaying the three dimensional image on an output device to a user.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein the incident photon beam within each predetermined energy range is generated by a method chosen from the group consisting of neutron capture, proton capture reactions, laser back scattering and resonant scattering of photons.

51. The method of claim 49, wherein the detector array comprises high purity germanium.

52. The method of claim 49, wherein the predetermined energy range is limited to energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in the specified nuclear isotope.

53. The method of claim 49, wherein the incident photon beam further comprises photons within at least one additional predetermined energy range,

wherein each said additional predetermined energy range comprises energies at which nuclear resonance fluorescence scattering can take place in one of the at least one additional specified nuclear isotopes,

wherein the reference scatterer further comprises each said additional specified nuclear isotope, and

further comprising, based upon numbers and energies of photons detected in the detector array, for a given direction and surface location, determining through use of tomographic computation methods three dimensional images of the presence of each of the additional specified nuclear isotopes in at least the portion of the target of interest;

and

further comprising, displaying the said three dimensional images on an output device to a user.

54. A method of determining and displaying a three dimensional image of a presence of a first specified nuclear isotope in at least a portion of a target of interest, comprising:

a) illuminating at least a part of the target with an incident photon beam comprising photons within a first predetermined energy range and photons within a second predetermined energy range,

wherein the incident photon beam comprises photons traveling in at least one first predetermined direction which impinge upon the target at least one first predetermined surface location,

wherein the first predetermined energy range comprises energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in the first specified nuclear isotope,

wherein the second predetermined energy range is limited to energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering cannot take place in the first specified nuclear isotope and comprises energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in a second specified nuclear isotope, and

wherein the specified second nuclear isotope is not present in the target in a substantial amount, or the quantity and distribution of the specified second nuclear isotope in the target is known;

b) detecting in at least one primary detector array a plurality of photons produced by nuclear resonance fluorescence in a first reference scatterer array;

wherein the first reference scatterer array comprises at least some of the specified first nuclear isotope,

wherein the first reference scatterer array is disposed such that at least a portion of said incident photon beam traversing the target is incident on the first array, and

wherein the primary detector array is disposed such that at least some photons scattered from the first reference scatterer array by nuclear resonance fluorescence are incident on the primary detector array;

c) detecting in at least one secondary detector array a plurality of photons produced by nuclear resonance fluorescence in a second reference scatterer array;

wherein the second reference scatterer array comprises the specified second nuclear isotope,

wherein the second reference scatterer array is disposed such that at least a portion of said incident photon beam traversing the target and impinging upon and traversing the first reference scatterer array is incident on the second array, and

wherein the secondary detector array is disposed such that at least some photons scattered from the secondary reference scatterer array by nuclear resonance fluorescence are incident on the secondary detector array;

d) repeating steps a), b) and c) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations;

e) based upon numbers of photons detected in the primary detector array and the secondary detector array, for a given direction and surface location, determining through use of tomographic computation methods the three dimensional image of the presence of the first specified nuclear isotope in at least the portion of the target of interest; and

f) displaying the three dimensional image on an output device to a user.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein the incident photon beam within the first predetermined energy range is generated by a method chosen from the group consisting of neutron capture, proton capture reactions, laser back scattering and resonant scattering of photons.

56. The method of claim 54, wherein the repetition of steps a), b) and c) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations comprises:

d-1) choosing additional directions and surface locations such that a slice of at least the portion of the target of interest is imaged; and

d-2) repeating step d-1) for additional slices of the at least the portion of the target of interest.

57. The method of claim 54, wherein the first predetermined energy range is limited to energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in the first specified nuclear isotope.

58. A method of determining and displaying a three dimensional image of a presence of a specified nuclear isotope in at least a portion of a target of interest, comprising:

a) illuminating at least a part of the target with an incident photon beam comprising photons within a predetermined energy range,

wherein the incident photon beam comprises photons traveling in at least one first predetermined direction which impinge upon the target at least one first predetermined surface location, and

wherein said predetermined energy range comprises energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in the specified nuclear isotope;

b) detecting in at least one detector array a plurality of photons produced by nuclear resonance fluorescence in a reference scatterer array;

wherein the reference scatterer array comprises the specified nuclear isotope,

wherein the reference scatterer array is disposed such that at least a portion of said incident photon beam traversing the target is incident on the array, and

wherein the detector array is disposed such that at least some photons scattered from the reference scatterer array by nuclear resonance fluorescence are incident on the detector array;

c) detecting in a transmission detector array a plurality of photons from said incident photon beam,

wherein the transmission detector array is disposed such that at least a portion of said incident photon beam traversing the target and impinging upon and traversing the reference scatterer array is incident on the transmission detector array;

d) repeating steps a), b) and c) for a predetermined selection of additional directions and surface locations;

e) based upon numbers of photons detected in the detector array, and the transmission detector array, for a given direction and surface location, determining through use of tomographic computation methods the three dimensional image of the presence of the specified nuclear isotope in at least the portion of the target of interest; and

f) displaying the three dimensional image on an output device to a user.

59. The method of claim 58, wherein the incident photon beam within each predetermined energy range is generated by a method chosen from the group consisting of neutron capture, proton capture reactions, laser back scattering and resonant scattering of photons.

60. The method of claim 58, wherein the predetermined energy range is limited to energies at which nuclear resonant fluorescence scattering can take place in the specified nuclear isotope.