Monte Carlo studies and response assessment of a new Rotational Modulation Collimator (RMC) design

A Rotational Modulation Collimator (RMC) is a simple imaging technique with applications in homeland security for detecting nuclear materials and orphan radiation sources. These compose a threat for national security and it is therefore of utmost importance to develop fast and accurate systems to locate these threats. Here we propose a new RMC design, with increased field of view (FOV), where the body of the system includes slits. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to assess the response of the new design. Image reconstruction was performed using the Maximum Likelihood Expectation Maximization (MLEM) algorithm. The proposed design results in a RMC with an extended FOV of 60°. (author)