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A design methodology using signal‐to‐noise ratio for plastic scintillation detectors design and performance optimization
Author(s) -
Lacroix Frédéric,
Beddar A. Sam,
Guillot Mathieu,
Beaulieu Luc,
Gingras Luc
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.3231947
Subject(s) - scintillation , detector , signal to noise ratio (imaging) , noise (video) , optics , optical fiber , coupling (piping) , electronic engineering , physics , computer science , materials science , artificial intelligence , metallurgy , image (mathematics) , engineering
Purpose : The design of novel plastic scintillation detectors (PSDs) is impeded by the lack of a suitable framework to simulate and predict their performance. The authors propose to use the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) to model the performance of PSDs that use charge‐coupled devices (CCDs) as photodetectors. Methods : In PSDs using CCDs, the SNR is inversely related to the normalized standard deviation of the dose measurement. Thus, optimizing the SNR directly optimizes the system's precision. In this work, a model of SNR as a function of the system parameters is derived for optical fiber‐based PSD systems. Furthermore, this proposed model is validated using experimental results. A formula for the efficiency of fiber coupling to CCDs is derived and used to simulate the performance of a PSD under varying magnifications. Results : The proposed model is shown to simulate the experimental performance of an actual PSD to a suitable degree of accuracy under various conditions. Conclusions : The SNR constitutes a useful tool to simulate the dosimetric precision of PSDs. Using the SNR model, recommendations for the design and optimization of PSDs are provided. Using the same framework, recommendations for non‐fiber‐based PSDs are also provided.