BACK-SCATTER HUMAN BODY SECURITY INSPECTION SYSTEM AND SCANNING METHOD THEREOF TO DETECT RADIOACTIVE MATTER

• US 20140056410A1
• Filed: 08/20/2013
• Published: 02/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nutech Company Limited, Nuctech Company Limited (Tsinghua Tongfang Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Nuctech Company Limited (Tsinghua Tongfang Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Zhao, Ziran, Wu, Wanlong, Jin, Yingkang, Tang, Le, Ding, Guangwei, Cao, Shuo, Zhu, Chenguang
• Application Number:
  US13/971,275
• Publication Number:
  US 20140056410A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 378/87
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 5/222 measuring scattered radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 5/26 Passive interrogation, i.e. by measuring radiation emitted by objects or goods

Abstract

The present invention discloses a back-scatter human body security inspection system, capable of detecting a radioactive matter carried by the human body, comprising: a radiation source configured to generate radiation rays, a flying spot forming device, configured to modulate the radiation rays from the radiation source, so as to form flying spot scanning beams for scanning the human body to be detected, a detector configured to detect radiation rays from the human body to be detected and output a signal characterizing a dose of the radiation rays, a control and data processing device, configured to process the signal outputted from the detector to obtain a radiation image of the human body to be detected. The detector detects the radiation rays from the radiation source scattered by the human body to be detected, separately at different times, and the radiation rays from the radioactive matter carried by the human body to be detected. In the present invention, the application ranges of the back-scatter human body scanning apparatus can be effectively expanded, without adding and modifying the hardware therein, thereby increasing the monitoring function to the radioactive matter carried by the human body and further improving the effects of the human body security inspection.

Claims

1. A back-scatter human body security inspection system, which is capable of detecting a radioactive matter carried by the human body, comprising:

a radiation source configured to generate radiation rays;

a flying spot forming device, configured to modulate the radiation rays from the radiation source, so as to form flying spot scanning beams for scanning the human body to be detected;

a detector configured to detect radiation rays from the human body to be detected and output a signal characterizing a dose of the radiation rays;

a control and data processing device, configured to process the signal outputted from the detector to obtain a radiation image of the human body to be detected,

wherein the detector detects the radiation rays from the radiation source scattered by the human body to be detected, and the radiation rays from the radioactive matter carried by the human body to be detected, separately at different times.

2. The back-scatter human body security inspection system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that:

It further comprises a displaying device configured to display the obtained radiation image of the human body to be detected.

3. The back-scatter human body security inspection system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that:

the flying spot forming device comprises;

a fixed shield plate and a rotatable shield body disposed between the radiation source and a object to be scanned respectively, wherein the fixed shield plate is stationary with respect to the radiation source and the rotatable shield body is rotatable with respect to the fixed shield plate, wherein;

the fixed shield plate is provided with a ray passing-through region thereon, which allows for a radiation beam from the radiation source to pass through the fixed shield plate,

a ray incidence region and a ray emergence region, arranged on the rotatable shield body respectively, during the rotation scanning of the rotatable shield body, the ray passing-through region of the fixed shield plate continuously intersects with the ray incidence region and the ray emergence region of the rotatable shield body to generate collimating holes for scanning.

4. The back-scatter human body security inspection system as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that:

the ray passing-through region of the fixed shield plate is a rectilinear gap,

the rotatable shield body is a cylinder, and the ray incidence and emergence regions are configured to be a series of discrete pinholes or slits disposed along a spiral line respectively.

5. The back-scatter human body security inspection system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that:

the detector as a whole detects the rays scattered back from a surface of the scanned human body, and produces an electrical signal, which is sent into the control and data processing device by a single transmission circuit and processed therein.

6. The back-scatter human body security inspection system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that:

the detector comprises a plurality of detecting units, which detect the rays scattered back from a surface of the scanned human body respectively, and produce electrical signals, which are sent into the control and data processing device by respective transmission circuits and processed therein.

7. The back-scatter human body security inspection system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that:

the radiation source is a X-ray machine, a γ

ray source or an isotope ray source; and

the detector is a plastic scintillator detector or an inorganic scintillator detector.

8. A scanning method by a back-scatter human body security inspection system as claimed in claim 1, the method includes:

(a) driving the radiation source to emit the radiation ray beams;

(b) modulating the ray beams from the radiation source by the flying spot forming device to form the flying spot ray beams being incident on the scanned human body;

(c) detecting the radiation rays scattered back from the human body to be detected by the detector, producing an electrical signal, inputting it into the control and data processing device and processing it, to obtain a radiation image of the back-scatter ;

(d) detecting the radiation rays from the radioactive matter carried by the human body to be detected by the detector, producing an electrical signal, inputting it into the control and data processing device, and processing it, to obtain a radiation image of the radioactive matter,

wherein the step (c) and the step (d) are performed separately at different times.

9. The scanning method as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that:

the step (d) comprises;

when the radiation source does not emit the radiation rays and the human body to be detected is absent in front of the inspection system, the detector is placed in a work satae to make ray detection, the control and data processing device processes the data, and extracts a characteristic value by a predetermined algorithm, as a characteristic value of an environment background;

when the radiation source does not emit the radiation rays and the human body to be detected is present in front of the inspection system, the detector is arranged in the same working state as the state in which the characteristic value of the environment background is measured, to make ray detection, the control and data processing device processes data and extracts a characteristic value, as a characteristic value of the human body to be detected;

comparing the characteristic value of the human body to be detected with the characteristic value of the environment background, and if the characteristic value of the human body to be detected reaches a certain threshold above the characteristic value of the environment background, then it will be determined that there is a suspicion that the human body carries the radioactive matter.

10. The scanning method as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that:

the said characteristic values of the human body to be detected and the background of the environment are an average value on a signal level during a certain period;

the number of pulses exceeding a certain level value within a certain period;

a statistic parameter of the average value and the number of pulses, or various combinations of the values and the statistic parameter.

11. The scanning method as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that:

in the comparing step, it further comprises;

drawing a conclusion on whether the human body to be detected carries the radioactive matter by a direct comparison;

or

drawing a conclusion on the probability that the human body to be detected carries the radioactive matter by a comprehensive comparison on various characteristic values.

12. The scanning method as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that:

the detector as a whole detects the rays scattered back from a surface of the scanned human body, and produces an electrical signal, which is sent into the control and data processing device by a single transmission circuit and processed therein.

13. The scanning method as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that:

the detector comprises a plurality of detecting units, which detect the rays scattered back from a surface of the scanned human body respectively, and produce electrical signals, which are sent into the control and data processing device by the respective transmission circuits and processed therein.

14. The scanning method as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that, it further comprises:

determining whether various areas of the human body to be detected have the radioactive matter or the probability that various areas of the human body to be detected have the radioactive matter, based on the outputted values detected by the detecting units.

15. The scanning method as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that:

after the starting up of the inspection system, the operation of measuring the characteristic value of the environment background is performed within a duration in which no objects are not scanned.

16. The scanning method as claimed in claim 15, characterized in that:

the operation of measuring the characteristic value of the human body to be detected is performed within a ready period when the human body to be detected is in front of the inspection system, or within a period in which the human body to be detected turns out in front of the apparatus.