University of Texas at Dallas researchers have developed a cheaper and more accurate portable technology to detect neutron radiation, which can indicate the presence of materials used for weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The technology can also be used in radiation therapy. Manufacturing costs for the new material is 100 to 1,000 times less expensive than current radiation detectors. Radiation from neutrons is one of the most difficult types of radiation to detect because neutrons have no electrical charge, Quevedo-Lopez said. It also could measure radiation exposure in hospital settings and detect radiation in contaminated scrap metal.