Guardian Portable Radiation Search Tool

Portable Systems Available As Briefcases, Backpacks and Wearable Systems

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The Guardian Portable Radiation Search Tool (PRST) is intended for use by safeguard inspectors for radiation source search and is ideally suited for law enforcement agencies tasked with counter-terrorism, for facilities inspections, and for emergency response teams. The Guardian PRST is an extremely easy to use, all-in-one tool that reports immediate “red light/green light” results. Data levels can be customized and transferred quickly and easily. The Guardian PRST also comes in three versions, each with various options.  Portable systems, capable of detecting the presence of both neutron and gamma-ray emitting radionuclides, can be provided in a briefcase, backpack, or vest configurations. These systems are ideal for inspections of facilities, emergency response teams, and search and recovery of weapons and material.  And the design is scalable: larger suitcase sizes or even battery-powered portal and vehicle-sized systems with greater sensitivity are available.

All of these systems may be configured with various sizes of detectors depending upon the sensitivity and weight preferences of the user. Neutron sensors are available in 500 and 800 cm² sizes and gamma ray sensors include PVT plastic scintillator for gross gamma and optionally 5cmx5cm (2”x2") NaI(Tl), 5cmx5cm (2”x2") BGO, or 5cmx10cm (2”x4") BGO detectors. NaI detectors are used to provide radionuclide identification.

The glass fibers used in the Guardian Portable Radiation Search Tool are solid-state, making this device ideal for portable applications. It is inherently safer and more rugged.  There is no International Air Transport Association (IATA) transport or other shipping hazard and PRST systems may be carried on commercial flights as checked or carry-on baggage, enabling rapid deployment in emergencies.  In addition, the glass fibres are less sensitive to vibration, temperature, pressure, or other electrical susceptibility than are conventional ³He tubes. Reliable measurements may be taken while the system is in motion or in noisy or harsh environments.

The Warfighter is an enhanced version of the Guardian Backpack system, provides all the standard features of the Guardian systems in an integrated assembly. The assembly is enclosed in a waterproof and shockproof structural polyethylene shell that has the full function of a larger system with a total weight of less than 20 pounds.  Features include: 

Since its introduction in 2001, Nucsafe has delivered over 150 PRST systems to various clients. The electronics have provision for a variety of communication protocols and can accommodate options such as gamma spectroscopy for nuclide identification, GPS and wireless communication to PDAs.   Designs have always been solid state, although most recently, Nucsafe has added a line of ³He products to provide the BEST technology appropriate to each individual application.

Portable systems capable of detecting the presence of both neutron and gamma-ray emitting radionuclides can be provided in a briefcase, backpack or vest configurations. These systems are ideal for inspections of facilities, emergency response teams and search and recovery of weapons and material. The design is scalable so larger systems with even greater sensitivity are available on request.

These systems provide a Yes/No attribute test for neutron and gamma ray radiation based upon a moving average background and a user defined alarm level.  This alarm level is defined a numeric value of the number of standard deviations of the background above the average background.  When a neutron or gamma alarm occurs, the system provides a visible and audio alarm. 

For the PRST, we provide visible, audible and vibration alarm modes that can be turned on or off independently by a user.  We also provide graphical and numeric output on an LCD displaying important parameters including gross neutron and gamma ray counts per second, average background for neutrons and gamma ray channels, level (net counts divided by the square root of the background for both channels and estimated dose rate from each type of radiation.  A buffer of the data is recorded along with date and time stamps and optionally with a GPS sensor, the location of the measurement. 

These data may be output to a portable PC and viewed using our PUMA Log View program.  The program provides statistical results of collected data and graphical representation of the data.  An example is shown below in the Recent History form of the PUMA program.

All of the data acquisition, alarm control and sensor control are internal to the instrument. However, an HP Jornada 720 Palm PC is available as an option. 

The systems offer visual and audible indicators of an alarm and keep a time record of the count rates for each channel. Multiple energy regions of interest can be set for the gamma-ray data to find specific nuclides. Optional GPS data can be added to the log file. These systems are capable of detecting a weapon at 10M in a few seconds.

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Last modified: January 24, 2008