.FLYINGHEAD HANDHELD HOMELAND SECURITY
.TITLE Facing nuclear proliferation threats, Los Alamos National Laboratory gets creative with handhelds
.AUTHOR Christine Harland Williams
.FEATURE
.SUMMARY To help border patrol officers, police and emergency workers prevent someone from getting a nuclear weapon into the US and detonating it, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) scientists have developed a hand-held nuclear isotope identifier that can detect and identify a source of radiation and wirelessly send data about it to experts who can provide further analysis. Read this fascinating article to find out how it’s protecting America’s borders.
To help border patrol officers, police and emergency workers prevent someone from getting a nuclear weapon into the US and detonating it, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) scientists have developed a hand-held nuclear isotope identifier that can detect and identify a source of radiation and wirelessly send data about it to experts who can provide further analysis.
.H1 Handhelds and homeland security
What makes this device so unique is its use of a wireless palmOne handheld, already popular among law enforcement and government agencies across the country. The device carries a $20,000 price tag and consists of two parts: (1) a palmOne handheld that provides the user interface, communication device and data archiving, and (2) a high-end radiation detector with a microprocessor.
According to William Murray, the LANL scientist who led the development effort, the LANL’s Palm CZT Spectrometer is lighter, smaller and easier to use than any radiation detector currently available on the market, and the only one that can identify a radiation source and communicate its findings via a wireless link. This makes it the ideal device for non-technical field personnel such as officers protecting U.S. borders and ports of entry and emergency responders.
.H1 Small and simple solution
"Most of the monitors in use by border officials today that can identify the source of some radiation are very difficult for non-technical people to use, and are quite large and bulky, weighing in around 7 pounds," Murray explained. Their greatest weakness is that when those monitors detect radiation, they can trigger false alarms when they detect radiation coming from non-threatening sources, such as people who use isotopes for medical purposes, according to Murray.
.BREAK_EMAIL This is a fascinating article. Read the rest by clicking here.
Los Alamos has ordered 42 of the Palm CZT Spectrometer devices like the one pictured in Figure A, which will be used by Department of Energy teams that are called to a scene if a nuclear source is detected.
.FIGPAIR A Here’s one of the 42 Palm CZT Spectrometer devices at work. Photo credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory, LeRoy Sanchez.
The device slips into a cradle on the detector and communicates with the radiation detector’s microprocessor. The detector uses a small crystal that releases charge when it is hit by radiation. The unique signature of the radiation is analyzed by the microprocessor in the device to identify the source of radiation it detects.
.H1 Perfect for field use
The Palm CZT Spectrometer is meant to be taken out to the field to make a specific measurement, and then with its wireless capabilities, if it detects something, it can instantly email the data back to the National Nuclear Triage System and have expert analysis done by a specialist.
The decision to use a palmOne handheld rather than developing a custom interface was an easy one for LANL scientists, according to Murray. "Palm handhelds offer an easy to use interface and excellent power efficiency. It would have taken a long time for us to create our own interface and we don’t have the resources to upgrade and improve the interface over time the way palmOne can. And, by using the Palm platform, people can write their own programs to analyze the data," Murray said. Murray also expects other handheld programs related to radiation exposure will be developed for use with the detector, such as radiation exposure treatment guidelines.
.H1 Planning ahead
"We wanted to provide a platform that would be flexible in the future, but would keep things very simple for the user," Murray said. Eventually he expects users to use their handheld to take a photo of a scene and transmit it back to experts along with the radiation detection data so experts can even see the scene.
Los Alamos National Laboratory hopes to cut the cost of manufacturing each device by at least half, in part by spreading the word to developers that the technology is licensable.
"The Lab would be happy to see some company with engineering resources getting involved in commercially developing the Palm CZT Spectrometer," said William S. Murray, the lab scientist at Los Alamos National Labs who designed the device. Cutting the manufacturing cost will allow a larger deployment of the devices to border patrol officers and other first responders. Currently, a contractor in Pennsylvania manufactures the device for the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
.BIO Christine Harland Williams is President of Harland Communications and tracks handheld solutions used in the enterprise. She can be reached at http://www.harlandwebs.com.
