Gamma Spectrometer
Applications in industry, nuclear and medical
This compact, portable gamma spectrometer is light, stand-alone and very easy to use. It is not tethered either to a PC or to power so can easily access any area reachable by a person, with options for robot or cobot mounting.
Requiring only a simple 5V battery, it is handheld and portable with all of the analogue and digital signal processing on-board.
Access to controls and readout is simple via a colour touchscreen display.
Easy to use
An easy to use, simple yet effective gamma spectrometer which can be hand-operated or adjusted for automation.
The live spectrum data display can be paused to get an immediate snapshot of the total number of counts, as well as other relevant data such as live time, dead time, and pile up count data.
Control parameters can be swiftly accessed via the touchscreen interface enabling the user to make adjustments based on real time analysis.
Responsive readout
Data is real-time via a readout.
A live spectra is displayed on the screen as soon as the spectrometer is pointed at a source, and a spectrum can be saved at any point via the touchscreen display.
The spectrometer has a scintillator coupled to a SiPM which generates current pulses which are then converted to voltage pulses. There are several ADC conversion modes: fast, medium and slow.
Accessible, adaptable and functional
We designed the gamma spectrometer to demonstrate how a light, portable, easy to use device could be adaptable to many applications.
Gamma spectrometry is already widely used to detect and quantify radioisotopes in air, water, soil, and vegetation. And in nuclear medicine it is used to measure gamma radiation from radioactive isotopes which are used in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.
Other applications for gamma spectrometry include the analysis of composition of materials, such as metals and alloys, by measuring the emitted gamma radiation, and quality assurance in highly regulated sectors as wide ranging as food and pharmaceuticals.
SPECIFICATIONS
Responsive readout
Compact form factor
Touchscreen for controls
Choice of scintillator to match application
Options for robot-mounting
Choice of ADC conversion modes: fast, medium and slow.
Powered by a single 5V battery
Total payload*
Applicable for medical and materials analysis applications
Adaptable to other radioisotopes
Adaptable to applications for handheld monitoring
Deployment-specific readout
Robust and portable
Real-time detection of radioisotopes
The original brief was to design a completely portable gamma spectrometer which was intuitive to use and adaptable for a number of different use cases.
We designed the system to be robot-mounted for automation and accessibility.
The demonstrator was developed by prioritising lowest technical risk and fastest time to market using many off-the-shelf components.