R&D MAGAZINE, SEPTEMBER 2005

(http://www.rdmag.com/ShowPR.aspx?PUBCODE=014&ACCT=1400000100&ISSUE=0509&RELTYPE=PR&ORIGRELTY PE=R100&PRODCODE=0000000&PRODLETT=BT)

Always Ready

It’s difficult to imagine the trauma that would follow a terrorist attack with a radiological dispersion device (otherwise known as a “dirty bomb”). First responders to the attack would be at an extreme disadvantage to know who and how to treat the victims without any radiation assessment. Gordhan Patel at JP Laboratories in Middlesex, N.J, has the solution to that dilemma with his Self-Indicating Instant Radiation Alert Dosimeter, or SIRAD.

The device is a wearable, instant radiation dosimeter capable of monitoring 1 to 1,000 rads. Moreover, it operates completely without a power source, making it always ready for use. When exposed to radiation from a dirty bomb or other radiation source, the sensing strip in this credit card-sized device develops a color immediately, indicating the level of radiation exposure, thus providing the wearer and medical personnel with instantaneous information on any possible exposure.

This is in sharp contrast to current technologies which require bulky equipment that needs regular calibration, or takes days to get dose information back from the lab.

More info: www.jplabs.com