A side-viewing laparoscopic probe (10) for detecting a source of radiation emissions from 15 KeV-1.0 MeV, which comprises:
- (a) an elongate annular housing (12) having a forward end and a rear end, and having a longitudinal axis;
- (b) a middle radiation detecting element (16) located within the elongate annular housing, the middle radiation detecting element (16) having a middle radiation detecting element field of view and surrounded by a radiation blocking shielding (26) arranged to reveal a defined side field of view and a pair of flanking co-axial radiation detecting elements (14, 18), including a proximal radiation detecting element and a distal radiation detecting element, each of said pair of flanking co-axial radiation detecting elements having a field of view and devoid of radiation blocking shielding, the pair of flanking co-axial radiation detecting elements located at the forward end of and within the elongate annular housing and oriented for a lateral field of view, wherein co-axial insulated spacers (20, 22) are located on either side of the middle radiation detecting element and adjacent to and in between each of the pair of flanking co-axial radiation detecting elements, the middle radiation detecting element, the pair of flanking co-axial radiation detecting elements, and the insulated spacers being co-axial along the elongate annular housing longitudinal axis;
- and
- (c) one or more pre-amplifiers (9) located adjacent and rearward of the flanking co-axial radiation detecting elements and in electrical connection therewith and configured to be in communication with a console housing a software algorithm that disables radiation counting when a source of radiation is outside the defined side field of view,
- wherein a count rate of the middle radiation detecting element is attenuated outside of the middle radiation detecting element field of view, such that the count rate ratio of Nm/Np or Nm/Nd is reduced by 32% outside the field of view of the middle radiation detecting element, forcing the count rate ratios to a value less than unity,
- where NM is the counts received on the middle radiation detecting element,
- ND is the counts received on the distal radiation detecting element, and
- NP is the counts received on the proximal radiation detecting element.