Method, apparatus and computer program for measuring the dose, dose rate or composition of radiation

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for measuring the dose, the dose rate and/or the composition of radiation is disclosed. In the method, a detector means is exposed to a radiation environment, the detector means comprising an array of radiation sensing detector elements. The detector means is switched in a sensitive state for the duration of a sensitive time period, and during said sensitive time period, an interaction pattern generated by individual radiation quanta interacting with one or more of the detector elements is recorded. The duration of the sensitive time period can be precisely adapted to the intensity of the radiation that has to be recorded. The interaction pattern is analyzed to distinguish individual radiation quanta received during the sensitive time period, and a radiation category is assigned to each of the distinguished radiation quanta based on its corresponding interaction pattern. A dose, a dose rate and/or a composition of radiation is then computed from the detected and categorized radiation quanta. Weight factors are attributed to each radiation category to take into account the individual degree of damage which the corresponding category can inflict in the irradiated materials.