COUNTING ROOM SOFTWARE INTRODUCTION
As the nuclear measurement
industry has matured and evolved into a wide range of critical
applications, the requirements for computer software have
evolved as well. Where years ago a spectroscopist might have
operated a hardwired MCA with its own user interface -
today the MCA interface is emulated in computer software. Where
he or she might have manually evaluated regions of interest for
nuclide activity information - today sophisticated data
reduction algorithms analyze complex spectra in the blink of an
eye.
Most importantly, the spectroscopy systems that were once operated only by highly learned physicists are now run by operating technicians. The techniques that were once the domain of researchers are now used in a wide range of routine, but critical, nuclear measurement applications. Many facilities now take tens of thousands of measurements per year - each of which could constitute a legal record related to public or worker safety, nuclear waste management, environmental protection and/or the safeguarding of fissile materials.
No longer is it adequate to simply acquire a spectrum and produce a report - although this is still a key aspect of the successful application of the system. Today's spectroscopy system must provide fully authenticated results.
The measurement record is a legal record. The operator of the measurement system must be able to prove that the system was properly operated, in a completely known state, by qualified personnel, for each measurement taken. The analysis equipment must be fully documented and verified - with a heritage that proves its capability for the specific measurement application at hand.
Finally, the site must be able to operate efficiently. User interfaces must be designed specifically for the application - providing the operating technician with a straightforward procedural operation that reduces the possibility of errors. Massive amounts of information must be managed, transmitted and reported - with little or no manual operation that could introduce errors.
The Genie™ Family
It is for this diverse set of needs that CANBERRA developed the Genie Family of Spectroscopy Software. The Genie Family lets you integrate a laboratory, or a set of laboratories, or multiple applications, in a single, cohesive architecture. You can network computers and MCAs, share information and distribute applications.
The Genie Family consists of the base Genie 2000 Spectroscopy Software and the Apex-Gamma™, Apex-Alpha™, Apex-InVivo™, NDA 2000 and other application packages which build on the time-proven Genie platform to streamline counting operations for various applications from counting laboratory samples to people to waste boxes and drums. Another Genie family member, the OpenVMS®-based Genie-ESP platform, still shares a compatible data file structure and similar operational characteristics with the current Genie 2000 and Apex® products.
What makes these products a family? Simply the ability to smoothly integrate all of them, and their resident applications, into a single system. No longer does the variety of applications require a set of "orphan" platforms, each distinct from the others. Instead of a group of individual systems, the Genie lab has a single system with multiple operator workstations and multiple applications.
Specifically, the power of the Genie Family is the result of a number of common Genie Family elements.
Common Look and Feel
In the counting laboratory, the above-referenced Apex-Gamma and -Alpha software packages use the Genie 2000 spectroscopy algorithms and MCA display and acquisition user interface as the basis for a common look and feel for all the products. Apex-Gamma and -Alpha both add laboratory management tools for sample login/data review and detector QA and calibration management, but the spectral acquisition and base analysis software should be familiar to Genie 2000 or Genie-ESP users.
In addition to the common interactive user interface, Genie Family members support robust batch procedure environments - enhanced by CANBERRA Graphical User Interface (GUI) tools. These allow for the construction of dedicated user interfaces for specific applications. Thus, the operator of a Genie based system for routine gamma sample counting, waste measurement, whole body counting or safeguards inspections has a user interface that is precisely tailored to the unique needs of that specific application.
Common File Format
All Genie platforms use the "CAM file" format, a unique data structure which enhances the user's ability to transport data and verify the integrity of the complete system. With the CAM file, measurement records collected on one Genie based system can be transported to another for reanalysis, review or archival - as all use the same format.
In addition to the ability to transport data, the CAM file offers other advantages. In traditional spectroscopy systems, data, calibrations, header information, parameters, results and reports were often maintained in separate files. This created formidable problems in managing data reconstruction of an analysis months after sample counting involved a re-association of all the right files. With the CAM file approach, the data file is the complete sample record. Data, calibrations, results, analysis parameters, front end setup parameters and the library are all stored as part of the file. Most important, the user can open any sample file and immediately have a complete record of the measurement and the state of the measurement system at the time the sample was counted. All parameters - front end setups, nuclide library contents, calibrations in effect at the time of the count and operator names - are there in the single file sample record. This makes it quite easy for the system user to verify to auditors or legal staff that the system was in a known state at the time of the measurement.
CAM files are extensible data structures where the information within the file is controlled by pointers and a defined schema file. Access is performed via access routines, simply specifying the name of the CAM variable to be read from the file. The user doesn't have to perform complicated operations to extract data.
Network Operation
Many facilities have grown over time to the point where a number of application control and analysis stations are needed in various locations throughout the facility for counting samples and approving results. Even though Genie 2000 is more of a stand-alone workstation platform, it still supports CANBERRA’s Ethernet network MCAs and can control MCAs directly connected to other networked Genie 2000 PCs on the same network. Using an Ethernet network and appropriate networking software, access can be granted to information, even live spectral data, from anywhere on the network.
The client/server architecture of the Apex platforms allow client stations to be placed where they are needed, supported by a centralized server workstation which is the repository for data collected by ALL the client workstations.
Common Analysis Algorithm Set
Genie platforms have a formidable collection of analysis algorithms - a collection that continues to grow. This allows algorithms to be selected that are optimized for specific applications or specific sample types.
Additionally, a subset of key algorithms have been identified as "common" between all platforms. The common algorithm set has been selected on the basis of two primary criteria, their broad applicability to a wide range of applications and their representation of the state-of-the-art in analysis capability.
By selecting these common algorithms, a laboratory can be assured of consistent results, even across widely differing hardware platforms. Of course, this does not preclude the use of specialized or historical algorithms in either platform where required by your applications or procedures.
Instrument Quality Assurance
In the increasingly regulated environment of spectroscopy applications, it is no longer sufficient to simply produce quality results. Many facilities must be able to prove the quality of their results. They must prove that the system was properly calibrated and maintained at the precise time the sample was counted and analyzed.
A major aspect of this quality trail is the instrument Quality Assurance capability available for the products. The QA packages allow the user to track any variable in the CAM data structure. FWHM, peak centroid locations and tail factors can be tracked. Additionally, more esoteric values can be tracked in the QA database such as front end setup parameters and manually entered parameters such as laboratory temperature and humidity if they are a concern.
Genie 2000
Even in a stand-alone, single detector system, the advantages of Genie 2000’s capability come through. Genie 2000 tightly integrates the two key aspects of a spectroscopy application, acquisition and analysis, into a unified graphical interface. Yet while complex counting operations are in progress, the user can analyze data files, access library editors, spreadsheets or other applications.
Genie 2000’s network support for acquisition hardware extends to the Lynx®, Ethernet-based Multiport II and 556A AIM (as well as MCAs directly connected to other networked Genie 2000 PCs) allowing systems to be assembled with redundant and remote capability anywhere on the Ethernet network. The Genie 2000 platform also supports non-networked CANBERRA MCAs with USB and PCI interfaces and portable, battery powered MCAs which can be used with laptop PCs or with no computer at all.
Apex Productivity Software for the Laboratory
Apex Productivity Software is available for both gamma and alpha spectroscopy count rooms. Apex-Gamma and Apex-Alpha magnify the capabilities of Genie 2000 by automating the various processes that occur both before and after a sample, or set of samples, is counted. These processes include detector calibration scheduling and review, QA scheduling and review, sample logging, sample counting, data analysis, review, approval and reporting. Genie 2000 is used for data acquisition and analysis, and Apex keeps track of the above activities for all the gamma and alpha detectors that are interfaced to the counting system. A relational database tracks samples through log-in, counting and data review to assure all steps are completed and approved.
Apex-Gamma also provides seamless integration of spectroscopy results to CANBERRA application database packages when the Nuclear Power Plant Option is added. These database packages include OpenCDM Chemistry Data Management Software and OpenEMS Effluent Management Software. Additionally, the Nuclear Power Plant Option provides specialized reports and analyses used in the nuclear power industry.
Whatever the application, you can look to the Genie family for the ultimate in performance, capability and flexibility.
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