Feasibility of using mobile phone camera for ionizing radiation dosimetry

Having a portable and accessible radiation monitoring tool for members of the society, especially when faced with radiation caused by unwanted nuclear accidents, can provide a solution for radiation exposure monitoring. The monitoring is based on the sensitivity of CCD and CMOS semiconductor of smart mobiles to ionizing radiations. After receiving ionizing radiation such as gamma and X-rays, these sensors can receive the incident beam energy as a result of processes such as the photoelectric phenomenon and create charge carriers by creating ionization in the semiconductor medium of the sensor. The current resulting from the collection of charge carriers will result in the recording of bright (irradiated) and dark (unirradiated) spots on the camera sensor. Measuring the density of bright and dark points in the recorded images provides the possibility of estimating the amount of radiation exposure. In this research, four quality cameras and different brands were selected and dosimetry process for two sources of gamma radiation 60Co and 137Cs have been investigated.  The ratio of the total area of bright spots to the number of illuminated pixels per unit of time, which is proportional to the received dose, was measured and the calibration coefficient was determined for each camera. In the measurements made, the effect of time of death, resolution, stability and reproducibility have been checked and the necessary corrections have been applied. The obtained results show that for all the cameras used, there is a linear relationship between the recorded results and the received dose.