Detection Applications

Our solutions to every industry and application are custom designed after thoroughly understanding your challenges and business goals. Our application technology managers are highly qualified to collaborate with you to design, develop and work with manufacturing teams to provide tailor-made solutions.

Nuclear Medical Diagnostic Systems - PET, SPECT, BMD, RIA

Nuclear medicine, requiring the injection of a radioisotope into the patient’s body, includes applications such as Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) used for whole-body or organ-specific machines, Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanners to study chemical and biological processes in the body, X-ray digital imaging techniques, such as Computed Tomography (CT) scanners, and Bone Mineral Densitometry (BMD), Radioimmunoassay (RIA) to analyze blood samples and surgical probes.

Radiation detectors play a major role in non-invasive clinical investigations. Scintillation materials and design options for SPECT use large NaI(Tl) crystals to detect the gamma rays emitted by the radiotracer injected into the patient. Organ-Specific Imagers focusing on small field of view for cardiac, breast or brain imaging require fine spatial resolution that can be achieved with a specifically designed array using CsI(Tl), BGO, LaBr₃ or LYSO crystals. PET needs the high detection efficiency from LYSO and BGO. LYSO has a shorter decay time which allows higher data rates, shorter scan times and TOF applications. CT requires high precision for image resolution offered by CsI(Tl) and CdWO₄ scintillator arrays.

Security - 1st Responder, Border Inspection, Baggage Scanners

Pixelated arrays, plastic scintillators, gamma and neutron detectors, are designed for the security market to enable inspection, screening and scanning systems for passive or active systems.

Gamma and neutron detectors are used in Radio-Isotope Identification Detection (RIID) systems such as handheld, backpack and personal radiation detectors by first responders or radionuclide identifiers at a border crossing and cargo security. Portal Monitors detect the accidental or deliberate transport of radioactive materials on personnel, in vehicles, in cargo containers and baggage. Passive Radiation Portal Monitors (RPMs) use large sheets of plastic scintillators to detect gamma emitters. Plastic scintillators are available in large areas, can identify the presence of radioactive material and when properly packaged will provide reliable detection for many years. When the application requires isotope identification, NaI(Tl) is a better choice for the primary detectors. Baggage Scanners use a combination of X-Rays shooting onto crystalline arrays to create an internal image to check for illicit material.

Oil and Gas Exploration - MWD, LWD, Wireline

Ruggedized detectors are designed and built to meet the demanding drilling and well logging for oil and gas exploration. These include natural and activated gamma detection for Measurement While Drilling (MWD), Logging While Drilling (LWD) and wireline logging. We also provide the full spectrum of detection solutions for less environmentally challenged surface measurements such as multi-phase flow measurements, core & cuttings analysis, NORM & TENORM measurements.

Ruggedized Detectors are designed to meet downhole performance and environmental requirements, as well as the measurement of both natural and neutron activated gamma. The tools provided meet the stringent shock and vibration levels while providing accurate results at temperatures.

Environmental and Safety Monitoring

Personnel and environment being scanned with handheld instruments for radioactive contamination

Detection solutions are used in a variety of industrial applications, including monitoring of nuclear radiation and process analysis.

Scintillator-based systems and instruments capable of measuring low-level activity, alpha-beta detectors are used to monitor environmental NORM and TENORM to determine the presence of radiation and possible risk for people and workplaces and radioactivity levels in contaminated areas.

Gamma and particle detectors are used in active and passive counters to monitor U/Pu enrichment process and radioactive waste management phases in Nuclear Industry.

Large NaI(Tl) or plastic scintillators are used in Scrap Steel portal monitors to detect or identify radioactive pollution or lost sources in metallic scraps before recycling.

Industrial - Process Monitoring

Fill or level gauging for process monitoring is when a source and detector are in fixed positions to determine the presence or absence of appropriate liquid. Thickness or density gauging for continuous process measurements, is a function of source strength, geometric efficiency, and sample movement speed for a given material calibrated system. Plastics and NaI(Tl) detectors are most often used by the industry.

Recreational

Shooting a Compound Bow with sight that uses colored fibers

A little known use for "colored" fiber is for bow site archery. The fiber collects the low ambient light to provide a lighted site pin to line up the target.