Personal wearable dosimeter for neutrons

A wearable dosimeter adapted for being worn on or in proximity to a human body (1) for detecting a neutron dose received by a subject exposed to neutron radiation, wherein the wearable dosimeter comprises:

• at least one first neutron sensor (2) for detecting the neutron dose;
• a matrix (3) comprising a neutron absorber material (3);
• at least one second neutron sensor (4) for detecting the neutron dose;
• wherein the matrix (3) is interposed between the at least one first neutron sensor (2) and the at least one second neutron sensor (4);
• a moderator (5) comprising a hydrogenated or deuterated material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene, paraffin, hydrogenated plastics, water and a combination thereof;
• wherein the at least one first neutron sensor (2) and the at least one second neutron sensor (4) are configured as a complex comprising a material sensitive to the passage of neutron's,
• a device capable of producing an electrical signal related with energy released by a slow neutron capture reaction by the material sensitive to the capture of neutrons, said complex capable of generating a recordable signal;
• and
• wherein the at least one first neutron sensor (2) and the at least one second neutron sensor (4) are each an electric type neutron sensor configured inside the moderator (5) and spaced apart from each other, and the at least one first electric type neutron sensor (2) is configured to be near the human body (1) when the wearable dosimeter is worn by the subject,
• wherein the moderator (5) is shaped in a form such that between the at least one second neutron sensor (4) and an external environment there is about the same amount of moderator (5) in all the directions in a half-space towards the outside of the human body (1),
• wherein the moderator (5) moderates neutrons arriving at the at least one first electric type neutron sensor (2) and the at least one second electric type neutron sensor (4), and the at least one first electric type neutron sensor (2) and the at least one second electric type neutron sensor (4) being sensitive to all energy components of the neutron dose,
• wherein the matrix (3) is placed as a layer in between said at least first and second sensor (S1, S2) and shields said at least first sensor (S1), so that said at least second sensor (S2) detects those neutrons that are moderated by said moderator (5) and said at least first sensor (S1) only detects albedo neutrons, that is those neutrons attenuated and retro-diffused by said human body (1), in order to differentiate the quantities of moderated neutrons that reach said at least first and second sensor (S1 S2), so as said wearable dosimeter (A) is able to measure the neutron dose received by said human body (1) in a range from less than 0.5 eV to 20 MeV.