An Investigation Of The Suitability Of Smartphones App For Radiation Detection SSRD

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An investigation of the Suitability of Smartphone’s App for Radiation Detection (SSRD)

Abstract

This paper presents a report on the investigation of the Suitability of the Smartphone’s App

for Radiation Detection (SSRD). Due to the advancement in technology, it is now possible to

use smartphones in detecting the ionization of radiations without the need for sophisticated

software. This is possible by the use of the phones' camera which detects the radiations and

warns the user before entering in hazardous places with harmful ionizing radiation levels.

Some studies have proved that radiations can be detected using an application from a

smartphone. This is considered to be a successful method of radiation detection although it is

not as accurate as the conventional detectors. Owing to the complexity of the conventional

radiation detectors available, SSRD has been pioneered and researched in this project as a

simple and efficient radiation detector. Additionally, the conventional detectors are more

expensive compared to the SSRD which uses the readily available smartphones. An

algorithm based on the interaction of radiation pixels captured by the smartphone’s camera in

the form of a video file is tested to determine the effectiveness of SSRD. The tested specific

radiations by this smartphones are Gamma rays and X-rays. This is established based on the

exhibition of a notable dependent angle and energy level dependency of the Gamma-ray

(Kang et al.). The smartphones used in this study should have a Complexity Metal Oxide

Semiconductor (CMOS) camera. The camera is wrapped with a black electrical tape that

enables the camera sensors in interaction with ionizing radiation and blocks the visible ray.

The smartphones have dose rates for reproducing dose determination calibration and produce

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angular dependence results. This is done by calibrating a known radioactive source with the

standard survey meter. The results of this will give an SSRD.

Keywords: Smartphones’ CMOS Camera and App, SSRD, Convectional detectors.

1.0 Introduction

Radiation has been present in the environment since the beginning of the earth.

Besides the presence of such radiations, live has greatly improved. Radiation comes from

three different main places that outer space (Lyndon), within human bodies and from the

ground. It is also said it is present in the air, food, even in the water and construction

materials (Taylor & Francis). Research has shown that brick built houses have higher

radiation level compared to houses made from wood. Radiation levels vary from place to

place. This study will at large extent be focused ionizing type of radiations. There are

different types of radiation, but this study will mainly focus on ionizing radiation.

Ionizing radiation refers to the type of radiation that carries with it enough energy that

can liberate elections from a molecule or an atom hence ionizing them. Ionizing energy

consists of small particles, atoms or ions moving at a very high speed. The examples of

ionizing radiations include x-rays, gamma rays, higher ultraviolet rays, cosmic rays, alpha

radiation, beta radiation and neutron radiation. This research aims at the Gamma rays, x-rays

and ultra violet radiation as the other rays in the electro spectrum based to be below the

ultraviolent radiations are non-ionizing hence not harmful like the visible light. Though the

boundary between these two types of radiations that is ionizing and non-ionizing is

considered to be at ultraviolet, there is no perfect distinction between different atoms and

molecules have different ionization energies (Mitchell, McNair & Jones). But generally, the

definition of the two has been placed at photon energy that is between 10Ev and 33ev in the

ultraviolet. X-rays, gamma rays, and ultraviolet radiation the most common types of ionizing

radiations.

2.1 X-rays

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They have a wavelength of less than 10

-9

m. The smaller wavelength means that it has higher

energy levels. Once an atom collides with x-ray atom, the atom will absorb much energy and

then boots the electron to different and high orbital level, but in the case that photon has

much energy, it will knock an electron that is located in the atom hence making the atom to

ionize. Larger atoms have greater differences in their energies at orbital levels hence they are

likely to absorb an x-ray photon. The contrast of absorption of x-rays in the human body is

because human bodies have smaller atoms compared to calcium atoms that make up the

human bones (Bitesize). The basis of operation of x-ray machines is on the difference in

absorption between the soft tissues, and the bones hence the physician can examine the

human body.

2.2 Gamma radiations

They have photons that have a wavelength that is smaller than 3×10

-11

m. The

emission of gamma rays occurs when there is a nuclear which is unstable therefore it releases

more energy to become stable during a nuclear reaction. The presence of a charge in alpha

and beta particle makes it be able to react with any other particle found in its surrounding

(Ben & Karam). Gamma rays penetrate deeper and further through matter as compared to

alpha and beta particles because of the absence of mass or electrical charge in their structure.

Gamma rays can be blocked by a material which is dense and thick. Any material which has

large mass along the radiation’s path can block gamma rays even though the material has a

lower density. Like in the case of x-rays, material that has a high atomic number for example

depleted uranium or lead adds a reasonable amount of stopping power as compared to a

material with lower density and lower atomic number. All gamma rays from the space are

absorbed by the atmosphere before they reach the surface of the earth. The gamma rays can

also be absorbed by the air in the atmosphere (Gammapix).

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2.0 Theory

2.1 Radioactivity Counter App

This is a smartphone app that detects radiations according to test by Ansto, an

Australian Physicist (Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organization). The app

measures the detected radiation in microGray per given period of time. It is based to a CMOS

camera for monitoring the ambient radiation levels. The app was tested using Samsung

Galaxy S2 and an Apple iPhone 4S. It produces some linear response as per the change in

dose rate of the radiation. The average dose rate radiation detected by the radioactivity

counter app when a smartphone is set into airline flight haul is approximately 7 MicroGy/h.

The camera should be wrapped with a black electrical tape to prevent any light that may

interfere with the detection dose rate of the app.

2.2 Ionizing Particles

The ionizing particles found in the radioactive materials include beta particles, alpha

particles, and neutrons. This radio-active radiations have a very high energy that makes them

to decay the radiations products causing their ionization which makes them harmful. In the

environment, there exists other subatomic particles which are ionizing and harmful but are

not discussed in this research like meson found in the earth. More other particles that that

ionize are particles that are produced in the event of the interaction of the earth’s atmosphere

and the primary cosmic rays. Another form that cosmic rays can produce ionizing radiation is

after producing radioisotopes in the earth’s surface that have the characteristics of producing

ionizing radiation. In the radioactive decay and rays of cosmic are natural ionizing radiations

known as background radiation. This ionizing particles can be artificially generated by the

use of x-ray tubes, particle accelerators and other methods for radioisotope production in a

lab (Peng et al.).

Ionizing radiation is not detectable by any type of sense that people have. Therefore

there is necessary equipment that can be used for the detection and it’s measuring. In rare

occasions, the high intensity radiations emits visible light that interacts with the matter that is

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provided to detect the presence of the radiations like radioluminescence among others

(Henkin et al.). Most people on hearing radioactive material exposure tend to think just about

the negative effects such as the Chernobyl Disaster of 1986 and the event in which the atomic

bomb was dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. However, when people come to

understand radiation well, then they will realize radiation has a lot of beneficial and peaceful

application in human life. But besides the benefits, undesired exposure to such radiation may

result in too many devastating effects on human life. The few dangerous instances that

happened previously about exposure to radiations have resulted in an immense study in the

area of applications of this radiation to benefit human life. Ionization radiation has several

benefits in different sectors such as medicine, agriculture, industry, sterilization and many

other many applications in homestead setting.

Radioactive materials are a very important component in the measurement of various

environmental processes such water, silt and pollution monitoring. Ionizing radiations are

very important in mapping and measuring of different wastes and other pollution water

discharged sewerage plants and factories and sand movement of sand around the rivers and

bays. The radioactive materials used in the mentioned areas have much shorter half-lives and

decay too slowly (Bitesize).

Ionizing radiation is the most important type of radiation used in health centers and

hospitals in the sterilization of equipment such as dressings, syringes, surgical gloves and

instruments and heart gloves before packaging is done. It can also be used in some places

where the traditional methods such as heat treatment cannot be applied for example in

ointment and powder sterilization and preparation of biological related things like tissue

grafts. The ionizing radiation is also very useful in irradiation to help in the killing of

parasites for example in archival documents, raw wool and in timber. Also can be used to

irradiate food to reduce the risk of getting infections (Andrew Marin)

Radioactive materials are also very important in agricultural activates such as in food

preservation, control of insect pest and improvement of food crops (Ahloowalia, Maluszynski

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& Nichterlein). It also used in the measuring of erosion rates, the moisture content of the soil,

measurement of soil salinity measurement of the efficiency of fertilizer uptake. Irradiation is

very important to preventing sprouting of cereals (Bly).

Another usage area of ionizing radiation is in industries where they are used in the

measurement of the thickness of plastics and paper during manufacturing. Also, it is used to

check fluid heights when filling bottles (Ben & Karam). Lastly, active materials are important

in the manufacture of various equipment used in the detection of explosives.

The most common use of ionizing radiations is in the field of medicine. Ionizing

radiation is a fundamental component used in of cancer treatment (Henkin et al.) It is very

useful in taking x-ray pictures of various damaged tissues and bones in the human body. The

radioactive element used in this case emits gamma rays which are passed through the tissue

or place of interest in the human body and then detected by the gamma camera which is

placed in front of the human tissue that is of interest. This, therefore, is very useful in the

scanning of the bones that are broken in the human body. Also early 1950s X-ray was very

useful since it was being used to detect the position of the baby in pregnant women. But it

was later stopped because of the risks that it came with. Also, x-rays are very useful in the

scanning of the passenger's luggage since the rays can pass through suitcase and clothes but

they will be stopped by batteries and metal objects.

Though ionizing radiation has many advantages unnecessary exposure to such

radiation may result to serious medical effects (Fred Mettler & Arthur Upton) the exposure to

ionizing radiations can be internal when the radionuclide is inhaled or external exposure

through airborne radioactive materials like dust, aerosols liquids which get deposited onto the

skin. There many other several ways by which one can get exposed. The negative effects of

exposure to ionizing radiation always depend on the type of radiation one get exposed to and

the sensitivity of different organs and tissues. A small exposure to ionizing radiation may

have little impact on the human body when the exposure is too much it can result in

impairing the functioning of various body tissues and organs. It can also lead to hair loss, skin

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redness, acute radiation syndrome and radiation burns. But the effects become more severe

when someone has exposed too much higher doses of radiation. Though tissues exposed to

low level of radiation can be treated, at some stage there can be the long-term effect of cancer

infection that may even result in death. The risk is much more in adolescents and children as

they are very sensitive to radiations as compared to adults. Research has shown that for those

people who got exposed to ionizing radiations such as atomic bomb survivors and

radiotherapy patients they are at higher risk of getting cancer infections. Also, the same

research showed that children who were exposed to pediatric CT at a young age at much

higher risk of cancer (Gardner et al.).

Therefore, the several negative impacts that came along with ionizing radiation

exposure (Eric Hall) resulted to the researchers coming up with several methods of protecting

people from radiation exposure (Jacob Schapiro). Ionizing radiation can be easily detected

even when it is in a very small amount. The detection and measurement of such radiation are

very important because after knowing the presence and the level of radiation people can take

necessary action as in relation to the possible effects. There are several methods of and

detectors that are currently used in the detection of ionizing radiations. The particular method

that is always selected to be used will be determined by the type of applications that is for

either x-rays or gamma rays. Other considered things are the how suitable is the device for

timing experiment, the count rate of performance and lastly the cost. The most common

detectors used for ionization radiation detection and measuring include Geiger-Muller

detector, scintillation detector and solid state detectors.

2.3 Geiger-Muller Counter

This is a type of radiation detector that makes a clicking sound when placed in the

place that has ionizing radiation. It has a tube with inert gas for example iron which get

ionized when radiation gets inside the tube. The electrons then move to the electrode

connected to the positive terminal of the battery. The moving electrons lead to the production

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of more random electrons as they move they ionize more gas. Then the computer is used to

convert the electrons into account since moving electrons constitute to the flow of current.

The sound rate increases as the strength of radiation rise. They involve rapid multiplication of

ionizing events in the chamber that is filled with gas. The proportional between the signal

which is being amplified and the event of the ionizing are lost during the avalanche process

(Rutherford & Geiger). This type equipment takes count of the ionizing event per unit time

but it does not it does not show the particular direction in which the radiation energy is

coming from. The vocational detectors like charge-coupled detecor (CCD) are not able to

detect short time radiations. The dead timer is used in most cases to cater for the above

limitation by quantifying it through enabling the use of this detectors to detect the short time

radiations. This vocational detectors also are termed to be inaccurate in moderate and high

count rates of the low background radiations of high radiations levels when the dead time

fails to do this correction. (Müller).

2.4 Scintillation detector

They have mainly used detectors in the event that quantification of ionizing energy is

needed. Their operation is based light that is obtained after conversion of ionizing radiation

through luminescence (Birks). The transfer mechanism of the radiation calibration in most

cases tends to help in relating the incident energy radiation to the captured light which

produces a distributive energy based on the quantitative information. Most of the conversing

materials are scintillation and fluorescent for rapid transmission of the radiations. It also

allows for the detector to respond very fast and in quantifying both high and moderate level

radiations as opposed to Geiger-Muller detector. The organic and inorganic materials used in

scintillation are selected on the basis of radiation to be measured. The energy resolution of

this detector is very limited hence sometimes may fail to identify radionuclide which has

energy signatures that are closely spaced (Knoll).

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2.4 Solid-State Detectors

This type of detectors is mainly used in the event that high energy resolution and high

identification capabilities are needed. This detector is designed to use the electron-hole pair

production principle of operation in the depletion of the diode which causes the incident

ionizing radiations to be felt. During reverse biased, the charge carriers before recombining

are moved to the electrodes. This type of detectors can, therefore, provide higher resolution in

comparison to scintillation detectors (Debertin & Helmer). The main challenge of this

vocational detectors is the depletion region which requires pure semiconductor like geranium

which are not mostly available. Also, there can be current leakage in the diode because of

excitation in room temperature which may result in a reduction of the noise performance of

the detector. This means that cooling to cryogenic temperature is always required for proper

working. These, therefore, makes this type of detector to be more expensive compared to all

the previous.

Due to the increase and widespread of mobile phone usage in the present times,

technology has increased. There are many mobile applications that are currently being

developed for various uses (Yu). One of it is an app for detection of ionizing radiations. Most

people consider having a mobile phone has a perfect camera that is a camera with high

resolution. Most phones that are manufactured nowadays have high image quality,

accelerated camera pixel intensity, and very high speed. These all features make these phone

to be perfect as they can easily extract and use the data from the x-ray that is put to them

(Kang et al.)

This improved technology resulted in the use of Complementary Metal Oxide

Semiconductor sensors (CMOS) in the detection of ionizing radiations. The phones used in

the earlier times used CCD sensors, but the modern technology relies in the usage of more

expensive and complex CMOS in mobile phones cameras to take pictures (Marshall).

Therefore, the presence of CMOS sensor in the camera resulted at the beginning of the study

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on if they could be used to detect ionizing radiations. The high growth of phone then resulted

in more research on how phones apps could be used in the detection of radiations. There are

several apps which have been recently produced to help in radiations measurement such as

Radioactivity counter. This study, therefore, tries to emphasize on the usage of mobile phones

apps as an alternative for standard survey meter in radiation detection.

3.0 Experimental Methods

3.1 Materials Required

To design the SSRD that would effectively detect the ionizing radiations by use of the

CMOS camera of a smartphone, the following materials are required:

 Smartphone with a CMOS camera and dose rate. This CMOS device in the camera

uses several transistors which located on each of the camera pixels that increases the

charge transfer rate using traditional wire (Wilson & Gurevich). This camera is used

to detect the radioactive rays produced by the radioactive sources. The dose rates

convert the detected radiations to be able to be analyzed by the smartphone app.

 Smartphone App for radiation detection. The app used in this research is the

Radioactivity Counter app. This smartphone app measures the user of the smartphone

to exposure of the radiations using the accurate detecting of the dose radiation. It uses

radiations measured in microGray per hour.

 Black Electrical tape. This tape is used to wrap the camera to ensure that it blocks the

visible light radiations and allows the Gamma rays and x-rays to pass through and be

detected by the CMOS camera of the smartphone.

 Standard Survey Meter. This meter is used to determine the rate of the radioactive

rays detected by calibrating the detected radiations.

 Gamma rays and X-rays source. Produces the rays to be detected.

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 A computer with MatLab installed. This software is used to analyze the detected

radiation, and the analysis helps in concluding the suitability of the smartphone

radiation detector.

 X-ray machine. This machine is used to perform the possible measurements of

determining the intensity of the detected radiation.

These materials are used to investigate and detect the SSRD system for detecting the

radiation. The system will help in detecting the hazardous radiation like the Gamma rays and

X-rays which are harmful as ionization. The detection of this radiation was previously done

using the vocational detectors which are complex, expensive and not easily accessible for

detecting approaching ionizing radiations. According to statistics (Gayon), 80% of the

worlds' population owning mobile phones are using the smartphones. With the viability of

using the smartphones to detect the radiations, will make it easy and ensure that the radiations

are detected using one's smartphone hence enabling that they do not enter into the places with

this hazardous radiations. This system is cheap, accessible and simple to use since it involves

only the smartphone app which detects the radiations.

3.2 Experimental Procedure

The above materials are used to investigate the suitability of the detecting radiations

using an application installed on a smartphone. The radioactive rays to be detected in this

research are the Gamma rays and x-rays. The process of determining the suitability will

involve deriving out some mathematical algorithms based on the interaction of the captured

pixels by the CMOS camera of the smartphone which is in the form of the video file. This

will help in detecting out specific radiations, and this is the ones that are tested in this

research. The specifically detected radiations that are tested in this research are the Gamma

radiations and x-rays. This is mainly the 662 Kev photon which is radioactive radiation

emitted from the radioactive source tested in the form of CS-137. These radiations will be

emitted by the radioactive source that emits or radiations by radioactivity process (Kang et

al.).

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The smartphone used in this research must have the CMOS camera, especially iPhone or

Samsung, but iPhone is selected to be used in this study. The black electrical tape is used to

wrap the CMOS back camera of the smartphone and enable the sensor of the front camera to

have an interaction with the ionizing radiations which are detected in this research, and these

are x-rays and gamma rays. (Cogliati, Derr & Wharton) The black electrical tape will also

help in blocking the light rays which are visible and prevent them from interfering with the

radiation detector since this light rays are not harmful but can hinder the hazardous radiation

detection.

The smartphone used in this study must also have a response that is linear with the dose

rate. This dose rate should be exposed to enable it to work accurately as a detector of the

radiations in this research. The available dose rates are calibrated using the standard survey

meter for radiation detection and set in a way that they can be able to convert more detected

radiations to increase their accuracy. The angular dependency of the smartphone, which helps

in showing the directions are set to shoe the same results no irrespective of their orientation.

The radiations detected are measured using some methods in this study which helps in

determining the energy dependence of the radiations. This measurement helps in determining

the intensity of the hazardous radiation detection. The smartphone can be calibrated against

the standard meter survey. Known radiation from the radioactive source (CS-37) has been

utilized to the bath traceable to the ARPANSA standards. These radiations are Gamma rays

and X-rays. (Marshall) The standard meter survey calibration is being performed from

different angles and distances. The calibration is also performed by the use of both the survey

meter and a smartphone. These measurements are performed using the x-ray machine.

The application in the smartphone that is used to analyze the converted radiation by the

dose rate is the radioactivity counter app. This app informs the user on the ability to detect the

emitted radiation by the radioactive source. It also helps in listing the places where is mostly

used in daily life, medical exposure, contaminated products or plane exposure. The app uses

the radioactivity counter to count the times and frequencies and the number of times

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interactions with the radiations which are detected. The app works as dosimeter after being

converted by the dose (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology). There is a sensor app

wiki available for the iPhone for detecting the radioactivity (Quick). In this research, the

detected radiation interactions are analyzed using MatLab software from a computer.

4.0 Results

4.1 Dose Rate

The dose rate of the converted detected radiation is analyzed as radiation dose in

response to the radiation flux. The effective measure of the dose has different energy and

radiation as measured by the dosimeter. These are based on the accumulation of the detected

radiation between the smartphone and the interactive radiation; the results are later stored in

the smartphone app. These dosimeters are used in direct reading of the converted radiation by

the dose rate. The survey meters are used in calibrating the converted radiation by counting

the measure of the dose. They are in most cases specialized for different types of radiations

0which are to be detected. In this research, the gamma rays and x-rays dosimeters are applied

to measure the range of energy of the radiations emitted by the radioactive source. The

calibration of this radiations in the smartphone app using then standard survey meter is done

following the federal regulator (Quick).

The detected interactive radiations detected by the smartphone CMOS camera are

converted by the dose rate to analyzable radiation. These radiations are analyzed using the

MatLab software from the computer. There are the expected dose rate detected radiations

which are analyzed concerning the measured dose rate radiation using the dosimeter. This

analysis will help us to determine the suitability of the use of smartphones installed

applications and the CMOS camera in the detection of radiations (Marques et al.). The dose

rate analysis of the measured values from the converted detected radiations in the

smartphones are as shown in the figure below:

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The smartphone that is used to detect radiations is at a certain distance from the

radioactive source emitting the gamma rays and x-rays which are studied in this research. The

distances of this interactive radiations from the source to the smartphone is measured as a

distance dependency factor of this study (Dai). The analysis of this distances is done by the

use of the MatLab in the computer. An analysis of the measured distance to the expected

distance of the radiation detection done by the MatLab is as shown in the graph below:

100

120

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

uSv/ h

distance cm

Measured versus Expected

Expected values Measured values

100

120

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

µ Sv/h

Distance cm

Distance versus measured and Expected values

measured values Expected values

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The dose rate in converting the interactive radiation from the radioactive source in the

smartphone app is done in a particular count rate measured by the dosimeter. This count rate

is analyzed using the MatLab software on the computer. The analysis is done by comparing

the measured count rate and the expected dose rate (Ben and Karam). This relationship is as

shown in the graph shown below:

4.2 Angular dependency

The detected radiations are measured using the radiation particle counting which is

determined by sampling the particles in the environment using a portable survey instrument

for monitoring the contamination of the particles. The detector, which is the CMOS camera

and the app in the smartphone, detects the ionizing particles as they interact. This is enabled

by detecting the dissipated energy dependency of the radiations. They are converted to

electrical actuates which are read by the smartphone app using the dose rate. These dose rates

are counted in the form of scintillation counting which is done by the smartphone app, and

the detected radiation is viewed as an electronically in the output monitor of the smartphone.

In the previous used vocational detectors had poor efficiency and swiping process of the

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

CPM

dose µSv/h

count rate versus Measured and Expected dose

Expected values Measured values

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conservative side, unlike the smartphone app radiation detector. The uncertainty of this

measurement is very important in determining the suitability of the smartphone app radiation

detector (Dai). This method is done by allowing the sensitivity of the decayed particle to be

detected by the CMOS camera and the smartphone app.

The dose rates are experienced at a dependency angle of the detected radiation. This

makes the radiations to be detected at a certain angle in the smartphone. The analysis of the

dose rate and the dependency angle is analyzed using the MatLab software in the computer to

help in concluding the study of evaluating the suitability of the smartphone app in radiation

detection (Marshall). This analysis is a shown in the graph below:

5.0 Discussion

The dose rate in the smartphone converts the interactive ionizing radiation into a radioactive

ray that can be analyzed using the smartphone app. In this research, the analysis of the

measured interactive ionizing radiation and the expected radioactive rays is done using the

MatLab as shown in the results above. This relationship can be of help when analyzed in the

smartphone app used. It helps in determining the amount of detected ionizing radiations in

the area using the smartphone. The measured ionizing radiation is detected by the CMOS

camera of the smartphone and analyzed in the smartphone app after being converted to

another for by the dose rate. From the dose rate results above, the smartphone with the

100

120

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

dose

Angle

Dose versus angle

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radioactivity counter app and the CMOS camera wrapped with a black electrical tape can be

used to detect Gamma rays and X-rays (Mitchell, McNair & Jones). This is the most

hazardous radioactive rays from the radioactive source hence it is essential to detect them to

avoid its ionizing effects to the body as discussed above.

The distance dependency in this research helps to determine the distance between the

expected radiation and the measured ionizing radiation after being converted by the dose rate.

This distance dependency analysis is well done using the MatLab software on the computer is

well illustrated in the results section above. Using the radiation detector smartphone app, this

distance dependency analysis is done to show the relationship between then expected

radiation in the smartphone and the detected ionizing radiation from the radioactive source.

This relationship helps the user of the smartphone, in detecting radiations, to determine the

distance between the ionizing radiations and the smartphone. Using the above mechanism,

the radiation detection using a smartphone is effective since the user can determine the

distance between the smartphone and the harmful ionizing radiation particles (Posted).

The angular dependency analysis in this SSRD research helps in determining the

angle of the ionizing radiation after being converted by the dose rate. In the results above,

there are the relationships between the dose rate of the detected ionizing radiation and the

angle of the measured radiation using the MatLab software in the computer. This angular

dependency analysis can be done using the radioactivity counter app of the smartphone. This

shows the relationship between the rate at which the dose is converting the detected ionizing

radiation by the smartphone CMOS camera and the angle at which the ionizing radiations are

detected. (Mitchell, McNair & Jones) This helps in determining the direction of the harmful

ionizing radiations from the radioactive source to the smartphone.

6.0 Conclusion

From the above results and discussion, it is clear to conclude that the use of a smartphone in

detecting radiations is suitable. The previously used vocational detectors like the charge-

coupled detector (CCD), are expensive complex and not easily available. This can be

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replaced by the use of smartphone app in detecting the harmful radiations like gamma rays

and x-rays. The use of smartphone app is suitable since it enables the user to determine the

dose rate of ionizing radiation, the distance, and direction of the ionizing radiation from the

smartphone. The above features are also detected by the vocational detectors. The advantage

of using the smartphone app in radiation detection is that it is cheap, simple to operate and

accessible since many people have smartphones in their possession. This research, therefore,

recommends the application of the SSRD.

7.0 Future Studies

This research on investigating the SSRD recommends the following researches on the

field of radioactivity to be done to ensure effective detection of the harmful ionizing

radiations which are hazardous to human life:

 The effectiveness of the use of smartphones in detecting the ionizing and harmful

radioactive radiations.

 Design and implementation of a smaller and simpler gadget than the smartphone that

can be used to detect the presence of ionizing radiations.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank our faculty for the support, and information they have taught us.

Also, thank my fellow students for the group work and determination that has changed our

lives highly. To my family, I show my whole-hearted gratitude for their commitment,

unconditional love, sustenance and advice that I valued during the project and my intact

school period

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Appendix

DISTANCE (cm)

Measured dose µSv/h

Expected dose

µSv/h

CPM

105.5

104

70.67

28.58

37.3

61.46

22.49

16.6

24.67

100

15.06

9.3

6.26

125

1.25

6.6

150

1.83

4.1

0.73

175

1.79

0.87

200

2.37

2.3

4.67

250

1.79

1.5

4.86

300

0.1

1.13

Measured dose (is the data resulted from our measurement setup)

 Expected dose ( is the data references obtained from calibration centre

in Melbourne)

 Angular measurements

Angles

CPM

dose

21.3

90.24

8.14

53.01

43.67

59.13

135

84.5

112.16

180

30.87

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