Jong Bum Kim

Development of advanced industrial SPECT system with 12-gonal diverging-collimator.

Industrial single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a promising diagnosis technique to investigate the dynamic behavior of process media. In the present study, a 12-gonal industrial SPECT system was developed using diverging collimators, and its performance was compared with those of hexagonal and 24-gonal systems. Of all of the systems, the 12-gonal type showed the best performance, providing (1) a detection-efficiency map without edge artifacts, (2) the best image resolution, and (3) reconstruction images that correctly furnish multi-source information. Based on the performance of the three different types of configurations, a SPECT system with 12-gonal type configuration was found most suitable for investigating and visualization of flow dynamics in industrial process systems.

Experimental Test of Double-Layer Method for Industrial SPECT

Abstract In industrial-type single-photon-emission computed tomography (SPECT) systems, the use of relatively large detectors and collimators for effective detection of high-energy gammas significantly limits imaging performance, primarily because of insufficient measurement points. In the present study, a simple but very effective image-quality improvement method, the double-layer method, was tested. In this method, two layers of identical SPECT systems are employed in order to increase the number of measurement points and, thereby, improve the image quality. For experimentation, the two identical detector layers were arranged for 30 deg of rotation with respect to each other. The results showed that the double-layer method indeed significantly improves the image quality of the industrial SPECT system, substantially reducing errors in source size and location for both low-energy (99mTc) and high-energy (113mIn) gamma sources.

Optimization of detection geometry for industrial SPECT by Monte Carlo simulations

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has developed an industrial SPECT to investigate the fluid flow and mixing patterns in columns. It has been found that the industrial SPECT is indeed a very powerful tool to study the hydrodynamics in multiphase reactors. One of the practical issues in the development of industrial SPECTs is to achieve a required imaging resolution of an industrial SPECT with a minimum number of component detectors, the number of which is frequently limited by both the size of the detectors and the total cost of the imaging system. In the present study, a set of different geometries of industrial SPECTs were evaluated by Monte Carlo simulation using MCNPX to determine the minimum number of detectors that will provide a spatial resolution that corresponds to 10% of the cylindrical column diameter. Our results show that 11 and 12 detectors will satisfy the 10% resolution requirement for the 40 cm and 60 cm diameter columns, respectively, for the industrial SPECT and radioisotopes considered in the present study. The conclusion of this result is valid only for the case considered in the present study, but we believe that the same procedure can be applied to other industrial SPECTs for this kind of optimization.

Double-layer method to improve image quality of industria SPECT

Recently a lab-scale single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) system was constructed to study the details of the image formation process in an industrial SPECT system. The industrial SPECT system differs from a medical SPECT system in that it uses relatively large detectors and collimators in order to effectively detect high-energy gammas with enough collimation power, resulting always, however, in low-quality images. In this paper, a simple but very effective double-layer method is proposed as a means of improving the image quality of the industrial SPECT system. The rationale of the double-layer method is to simultaneously employ two layers of identical SPECT systems to increase the number of measurements points and, thereby, increase the image quality. The performance results of the double-layer method, as evaluated by Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations, showed dramatic improvement in image quality over those offered by the single-layer SPECT system. The improvement, additionally, was more marked for more complicated and higher-energy gamma sources.

Performance evaluation of advanced industrial SPECT system with diverging collimator.

An advanced industrial SPECT system with 12-fold-array diverging collimator was developed for flow visualization in industrial reactors and was discussed in the previous study. The present paper describes performance evaluation of the SPECT system under both static- and dynamic- flow conditions. Under static conditions, the movement of radiotracer inside the test reactor was compared with that of color tracer (blue ink) captured with a high-speed camera. The comparison of the reconstructed images obtained with the radiotracer and the SPECT system showed fairly good agreement with video-frames of the color tracer obtained with the camera. Based on the results of the performance evaluation, it is concluded that the SPECT system is suitable for investigation and visualization of flows in industrial flow reactors.

Investigation of hydrodynamic parameters in a draft tube reactor using radioisotope based techniques and conventional method

In this study, various techniques were attempted to investigate flow dynamics in the enclosed reactor and the results from the techniques were compared. Radioactive particle tracking (RPT) and industrial single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) were carried out and the circulation times from them showed a deviation of 17.5%. The circulation time of the RPT was longer than that of SPECT, and it is speculated that the physical dimension of the/ fabricated radioactive particle creates the discrepancy. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations were conducted. The velocity patterns from them were similar to each other in the entire reactor region except near the propeller installed at the bottom of the reactor.

Influence of void on image quality of industrial SPECT

Industrial single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a promising technique to determine the dynamic behavior of industrial process media and has been developed in the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. The present study evaluated the influence of a void, which is presence in multiphase reactors of industrial process, on the image quality of an industrial SPECT. The results are very encouraging; that is, the performance of the industrial SPECT system is little influenced by the presence of a void, which means that industrial SPECT is an appropriate tool to estimate the dynamic characteristics of the process media in a water-air phase bubble column with a static gas sparger.

Development of a SPECT System for Industrial Process Flow Measurement Using Diverging Collimators

Abstract In industrial processes where multiphase flows are frequently encountered, it is important to examine the phase distribution and flow pattern to optimize process efficiency, safe operation, and cost savings. One of the most suitable techniques of industrial-process flow-dynamics visualization is the single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) system, which provides, by means of a process-system-injected radioisotope source, cross-sectional images of the process flow. Obtaining reliable SPECT imaging results for a multiphase flow system, however, remains a significant challenge. In the present study, the use of a diverging collimator for improvement of industrial SPECT system performance is proposed. The advantages of the diverging-collimation industrial SPECT system as compared with a previous parallel-collimation version can be summarized as follows: (a) significant reduction of edge artifacts on a detection-efficiency map, and 19% improvement of average detection efficiency; (b) 36% improvement of image resolution; (c) accurate source region reconstruction even with the source positioned farther from the object’s center; and (d) a reduced system size.