A systematic review on neutron radiography: applications, advantages, and challenges
摘要
Neutron radiography is a superior imaging method that uses neutron beams to image internal structures of high contrast, especially for hydrogen-rich and metal-bearing materials. As promising as it is, Neutron radiography has yet to see utilization in medical and industrial applications. The systematic review here follows the PRISMA standards and uses the PICO model to assess the effectiveness of neutron radiography and its process across domains.
MethodsA thorough literature search was performed on PubMed, Scopus, and IEEE Xplore in accordance with PRISMA guidelines for this systemic review. Duplicates and irrelevant articles 214 out of 356 records were excluded. After title and abstract screening 132 articles and full-text evaluation 25 articles, 10 studies were included according to inclusion criteria. Data were extracted and analysed according to imaging resolution, penetration depth, contrast efficiency, and application scope.
ResultsThe chosen studies for this systemic review documented the better penetration ability of neutron radiography in hydrogenous materials with resolutions of 20–100 µm. Sixty percentage were industrial applications and 40% were medical imaging applications. Neutron radiography proved to be 18–35% better in the contrast of soft tissues compared to traditional X-ray imaging. Despite this, limited accessibility and availability of neutron sources limit its use on a large scale.
ConclusionAt the conclusion of this systematic review, we arrived at a finding that neutron radiography has considerable strengths in material science and certain medical applications, especially in imaging soft tissue. But more work should be performed to optimize clinical usefulness. Portable neutron sources and better detector efficiency should be the focus of future innovations to make neutron radiography more applicable. Reporting bias could not be evaluated as narrative synthesis.