the percentage of radiation that is transmitted through a tungsten embodiment as a function of energy as illustrated the tungsten embodiment transmits a lower percentage of radiation across all energy levels by fabricating the barrel collimator 10 and or the pinhole collimator 14 of tungsten significantly higher levels of background radiation suppression can be achieved compared to using steel furthermore increasing the wall thickness can further enhance background suppression by blocking a substantial portion of background radiation with the adaptor 5 a radiation detector can be used to measure weaker radiation sources over long periods or dwell times this can allow the radiation detector to measure small radiation samples that would not otherwise be measurable with the radiation detector due to the overwhelming background radiation fig5 and 6 illustrate an exemplary stand 20 that can be used to support a radiation detector with the radiation detector oriented facing downward the stand 20 can comprise an upper plate 22 configured to engage with a radiation detector vertical legs or supports and a plurality of feet 26 to provide a stable adjustable support structure for the detector as shown in fig6 the upper plate 22 can comprise an opening 24 configured to receive a standard collimator 30 of the detector pointing downward as shown in fig7 the collimator 30 can protrude down through the opening 24 with the main body of the radiation detector 40 being supported above.