Detecting radioactivity from the air – more accurately than before

Oct 26, 2026, 2:45 PM · Bundesklar Redaktion

In extreme situations, speed is essential: researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have developed a new computational method that can identify radioactive material more accurately within a few seconds and determine its quantity and position more precisely. This significantly improves the usual method of detection by helicopter. The method can also be used in geophysics or nuclear material monitoring.

From the PSI press release

In his doctoral research at the verification and calibration laboratory in the Radiation Protection and Safety Division at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, David Breitenmoser developed mathematical tools that significantly improve data analysis in a flying laboratory: radioactive material can be identified more accurately, and within seconds. The results of this research have now been published in the scientific journal Nature Communications. The new analytical method is not only relevant in disaster situations; it can also be used, for example, to monitor nuclear facilities.

Source

Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI), via admin.ch: «Radioaktivität aus der Luft erkennen – genauer als bisher». Published on 26.10.2026. https://www.admin.ch/de/newnsb/t8sFphdkMay2

Detecting radioactivity from the air – more accurately than before

From the PSI press release

Source

Sources