  We discuss a novel paradigm in the optical readout of scintillation radiation
detectors. In one common configuration, such detectors are homogeneous and the
scintillation light is collected and recorded by external photodetectors. It is
usually assumed that imaging in such a photon-starved and large-emittance
regime is not possible. Here we show that the appropriate optics, matched with
highly segmented photodetector coverage and dedicated reconstruction software,
can be used to produce images of the radiation-induced events. In particular,
such a 'distributed imaging' system can discriminate between events produced as
a single cluster and those resulting from more delocalized energy depositions.
This is crucial in discriminating many common backgrounds at MeV energies. With
the use of simulation, we demonstrate the performance of a detector augmented
with a practical, if preliminary, set of optics. Finally, we remark that this
new technique lends itself to be adapted to different detector sizes and
briefly discuss the implications for a number of common applications in science
and technology.
