Abstract
Gamma rays may Interact with matter by a variety of processes, many of which give rise to secondary radiations. This thesis examines the possibility of performing tomographic imaging by means of these secondary photons using low-cost apparatus. The techniques are compared with each other and with transmission tomography, which plays such an Important role in modern diagnostic imaging. The progress of industrial tomography is reviewed as are techniques of Investigation using gamma ray scattering in both industry and medicine. Some new applications of a simple gamma ray CT scanner have been performed. A method of determining the spatial distribution of pure beta emitters in matter by performing tomographic imaging using the bremsstrahlung radiation produced by the beta particles has been demonstrated. This technique has been shown to permit imaging at depths in material greatly exceeding the range of beta particles in matter. All the imaging techniques using secondary radiation have displayed two principal limitations: long scanning times and poor quantitative accuracy. The low scanning rate results from the small number of secondary photons that are detected. The major contributing factors to poor accuracy are attenuation and the noise produced by unwanted in-scattering. The possible applications for secondary photon imaging have been briefly outlined and some suggestions for future work are included, Although techniques based upon Imaging using secondary radiation will not be able to compete with transmission CT in the vast majority of applications, they may prove valuable in a range of specialised fields.