Dosimeter offers latest technology for radiation protection, providing almost immediate indication of exposed dose thus allowing the wearer to modify behaviour
The new Unfors nuclear educational dosimeter, otherwise known as Ned, is now available in the UK from Southern Scientific.
Ned represents the latest advances in today's technology for radiation protection, providing almost immediate indication of exposed dose thus allowing the wearer to modify behaviour during the procedure.
Hence the 'educational' nature of the instrument.
Designed for use by staff working within nuclear medicine departments when preparing radiopharmaceuticals, the Ned should not be compared to an ordinary 'personal dosimeter' as it is unique in a number of ways.
The extremely small solid-state detector is located at the end of a 1.5 metre cable allowing it to be placed anywhere on the body, for example on the tip of a finger, in order to provide organ-specific dose information.
The detector has a 360-degree spherical response and its sensitivity and accuracy rivals TLD systems.
It can be chemically sterilised if required.
When worn during a procedure, the Ned provides the wearer with continuous information about the dose rate that they are receiving whereas TLDs can only provide retrospective information about the accumulated dose.
The instrument accomplishes this by emitting audible signals that are activated whenever the pre-selected dose rate threshold set by the wearer is reached.
This almost instant feedback to the wearer, the response is less than a second, has huge safety implications as it allows the user to immediately modify their behaviour during the procedure in order to reduce their personal dose.
