Software and Screens for Argos and Sirius Monitors

Features

• User friendly diagnostic and setup screens
• Six data screens provide complete system information
• Monitor History
• Service History
• Background History
• Monitoring time vs. Background
• Monitoring time vs. Alarm Level
• Detector Status
• Separate alpha and beta screens
• State of the art data logging
• Live-time detector test screen
• Frisker screen shows both analog and digital values

Description

This brochure serves to provide a synopsis of the software that is standard to almost all CANBERRA whole body and hand and foot monitors. This software has evolved over many years by incorporating user suggestions and is now recognized as being the very best in the industry.

Setup and Calibration
Display screens such as the Common Setup Values are accessed through a menu system which provides full setup, diagnostics, and history of monitor information. Related setup screens include full control of such features as count time ranges, voice selection, messages to be displayed, detector bias, and discriminator levels. All parameters necessary for optimizing the monitor operations and reporting are user selectable.

Operation
On approaching the monitor, a motion sensor detects the subject, who is greeted with "READY" on the display plus a voice prompt. Stepping onto the monitor base, the subject is greeted by both voice and on-screen instructions for positioning prior to monitoring. Once in position, the display shows a countdown for the monitoring sequence. Should the subject accidentally move out of position during the count, the monitor prompts for the correct repositioning, then continues counting down when conditions have been corrected. When monitoring is finished, voice and display messages "CLEAN" or "CONTAMINATED" are used to indicate location and amount of contamination.

If clothing or tools require monitoring, an optional tool/body frisker can be lifted from the monitor for additional surveying. The display then switches to show the ratemeter with both analog and digital indicators showing alarm and background levels, current rate (green below the alarm level and red above), and highest rate above alarm (yellow band). The frisker includes a built-in countrate LED, alarm LED, and count rate beeper.

Monitoring Time
Monitoring time depends on the background rate as well as operational settings. The monitor checks the background rate continuously and automatically adjusts the monitoring time. Fixed count times are also possible. The Monitor Time vs. Background Rate screen (Figure 1) can aid in determining the effect of the background on the count time. The yellow line indicates the time needed to meet the release limit criteria for the current background rate. The upper and lower red lines are the maximum and minimum count times as selected, the green line is the current background rate.

Figure 3.
Diagnostics and Setup screens are easy to use
and provide useful data.

Background Calculations
The monitor checks background rates continuously, but will not go out of service due to unstable background conditions. It stores a record of background count rates for each detector as shown in Figure 2. The yellow line is the continuously smoothed background rate which is used for background compensation when monitoring. The monitor will react rapidly to a large "step" change in the average background rate.

Self Diagnostics
The unit constantly checks both hardware and detector performance and will alert you should there be a problem. The "Out of Service Causes" screen aids the maintainer in getting the unit back in service in the least amount of time and without any tools. The monitor can also automatically show when the monitor is due for recalibration. This message will display locally or will appear on the central system if the monitors are on a LAN. Service messages may be entered to inform a user of recommended action if the unit is temporarily out of service.

Data Logging
The standard Data Log screen allows you to select what health physics and operational database files are automatically created and stored on the internal hard drive. This data may be copied to a floppy disk for later spreadsheet analysis. The file is in the industry standard CSV (comma separated value) ASCII text format.

Figure 4. There are more than 40 separate screens. This screen is shown as soon as the frisker is lifted from the book.