Low-Cost Arduino-Based Radiation Detection System (ARDoS)

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Introduction

Gamma radiation comes from elements undergoing radioactive decay. Geiger-Muller tubes detect radiation by the ionizing effect that takes place inside the tube filled with an inert gas such as helium or argon, to which, voltage is applied. Arduino is a hardware and software platform that enables users to program microcontrollers to perform a set of operations. According to experts at PNRI, digital survey meters cost around forty thousand pesos. This study aims to create an Arduino-based radiation detection system that would offer the same accuracy as the commercially available devices while maintaining a relatively low cost.

Materials and Methods

The primary components of the device were the microcontroller, LCD, step-up transformer, and the LND714 Geiger tube which costed six thousand pesos for the whole device. The device was then programmed to get a reading at an interval of 6 seconds with a gamma sensitivity CO60 of 1.5 CPS/mR/hr. 6 seconds was found to be the minimum interval in which the microcontroller could process. Both the prototype and comparison device were then used to measure readings in microsieverts per hour at an interval of 6 seconds.

Results and Discussion

Table 1 shows the values necessary to conduct an unpaired t-test and its results. The p-value is beyond 0.05 which fails to reject the null hypothesis at a 95% confidence level. This shows that there is no significant difference between the readings of the two devices.

Conclusion

ARDoS was compared to a Polimaster PM1405 Survey Meter and was proven to have the same effectivity while having a relatively low cost. Therefore, it can be concluded that ARDoS can be a lowcost alternative to commercially available survey meters.