The way that the new generations approach cultural contents changed dramatically. The audiovisual language substituted traditional media. Museums face now an important challenge to survive as cultural referents in this new paradigm: the introduction of new audiovisual languages in their exhibitions and the provision of attractive online content. The work presents a case study of the use of augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) in a technological heritage museum, with a double approach: on the one hand the development of AR to enhance the real visit to the museum; and on the other, the provision of VR to ease online visits to the museum for those that do not want to or cannot visit it. The results show that young visitors massively appreciate the use of these technologies. Using AR contents also contributes to the preservation of the original artifacts without damage. Furthermore, multimedia content provides some contextual information, improving the learning experience. Regarding the VR application, it is thought as a complement to the AR experience. It was developed as a virtual reproduction of the museum visit that can be experienced from any location, thus contributing to a higher diffusion of the museum contents.

Options for optimizing the energy and spatial resolution of gamma-ray imaging detectors based on thick, monolithic crystals shaped like flat-topped pyramids were studied. Monte Carlo simulations were made of the scintillation light transport for evaluating the effect of four parameters on the energy resolution, the spatial resolutions, and the depth of interaction (DOI) resolution of the gamma-ray imaging detector. These four parameters are: the reflectivity of the surface coating; the scatter mean free path; the absorption mean free path of the scintillation light; and the angle that defines the inclination of the sides of the pyramidal frustum. In real detectors, the values for the mean free paths for optical photons are normally not known. We estimated these by comparing MC simulations of detector resolutions to measurements for three gamma-ray imaging detectors with LYSO and LSO from different suppliers and with different surface coatings and geometries. The gamma-ray imaging detector measures the energy, centroids, and depth of interaction of the gamma-ray. DOI enhanced charge dividing readouts were used to measure the depth of interaction.

An ASIC front-end has been developed for multianode photomultiplier based nuclear imaging devices. Its architecture has been designed to improve resolution and decrease pile-up probability in positron emission tomography systems which employ continuous scintillator crystals. Analog computation elements are isolated from the photomultiplier by means of a current sensitive preamplifier stage. This allows digitally programmable adjustment of every anode gain, also providing better resolution in gamma event position calculation and a shorter front-end deadtime. The preamplifier stage also offers the possibility of using other types of photomultiplier devices such as SiPM. The ASIC architecture includes measurement of the depth of interaction of the gamma event based on the width of the light distribution in order to reduce parallax error and increase spatial resolution during image reconstruction stage. An output stage of transresistance amplifiers offer voltage output signals which may be introduced in the A/D conversion stage with no further processing.