Handheld Radiation Detector and Identifier

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers demonstrate the GammaTracker, a handheld radiation detector and identifier. GammaTracker is a rugged, portable device that points the user in the direction of the mystery source being detected. Designed for security personnel, the handheld device correctly distinguishes different radioactive elements and where the radiation is coming from - ideal for when a suspect is hiding in a crowd.

Transcript

00:00:15 scientists and engineers at the u.s department of energy's pacific northwest national laboratory in collaboration with the university of michigan and the kansas city plant are developing the gamma tracker handheld radio isotope identifier a rugged device for search survey and characterization of radioactive materials

00:00:34 gamma tracker demonstrates high resolution spectral performance and unlike other handheld instruments it also indicates the direction of the source to the user resulting in faster radiological search capability combined with higher confidence nuclide identification the gamma tracker device is an effective

00:00:53 tool for detecting locating and identifying radiation sources in applications ranging from non-proliferation to border security to emergency response the key to gamma trackers unsurpassed performance is the pixelated cadmium zinc telluride sensors used for gamma ray detection

00:01:11 these sensors originally developed by the university of michigan provide nearly one percent energy resolution at 662 kev a factor of three better than any other handheld search instrument available today each sensor has an 11 by 11 array of pixel electrodes on one side and the signals from each pixel are read

00:01:32 out independently using a custom proprietary application specific integrated circuit or asic with a total of 18 sensors embedded in the gamma tracker device over 2000 data readout channels are processed by the asics in the instrument the result is unbeatable gamma ray energy resolution which leads to high confidence isotope

00:01:54 identification in a small rugged and lightweight device gamma tracker uses a peak search algorithm combined with a gamma ray energy library for commonly encountered radionuclides such as medical isotopes as well as special nuclear material industrial sources and even neutron activation products

00:02:14 which can be used to confirm the presence of neutrons gamma tracker displays the nuclides found along with a confidence level and the material category expert users can also view gamma ray energy spectra for confirmation these spectra can be saved in ansi standard format for later analysis or reach back traditional handheld

00:02:36 instruments rely on a trial and error process to find radioactive material gamma tracker indicates the source direction which can significantly reduce the time required for handheld search and survey the user can concentrate his or her efforts on the survey areas where suspect radioactive materials are most likely to be found

00:02:57 to do this gamma tracker uses the gamma ray energy and interaction location information to determine the direction of the radioactive source using a modified patent-pending compton imaging technique whenever a count rate alarm is triggered this directional sensing is performed wholly in software using information

00:03:18 already available in the pixelated cadmium zinc telluride sensors and does not rely on any heavy mechanical collimators which would reduce overall detection sensitivity gamma tracker can sense a source in any direction including behind the user this direction is then displayed as highlighted squares in a ring around the

00:03:39 user display gamma tracker was designed with ruggedness and usability in mind nnsas kansas city plant designed the shock mitigation assemblies and developed the rugged lightweight carbon fiber package a soft rubber insert around the sensor assembly reduces the impact to the brittle

00:03:58 cadmium zinc telluride sensors in case the system is dropped because the current gamma tracker prototype requires forced convection to prevent overheating the device is not waterproof but further development of the system electronics will enable the use of a hermetically sealed package the six pound instrument operates on two camcorder batteries for up to five

00:04:18 hours and the batteries can be hot swapped for longer continuous operation gamma tracker is simple to operate with a single joystick control the user can navigate a series of menus to view spectra change settings or download data all data including gamma ray spectra isotope id information

00:04:38 and system state of health logs can be easily retrieved from the device by connecting to a computer through the usb port or by ejecting the compact flash card from the back of the instrument gamma tracker is a unique handheld radio isotope identifier while maintaining sensitivity size and weight

00:04:57 comparable to other handheld instruments gamma tracker locates and identifies radiological materials faster and with higher confidence making it a useful tool for a variety of non-proliferation and national security applications you