The RadSmart Detects Radiation and Automatically Communicates Its Readings With a Smartphone via Bluetooth
LOS ANGELES, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 03/08/12 -- Universal Detection Technology (www.udetection.com) (), a developer of early-warning monitoring technologies that protect against biological, chemical, and radiological threats, announced today that that it has unveiled the first generation smartphone application for its RadSmart Device. The RadSmart is designed to detect radiation levels on surfaces and in food and to automatically send the collected data to a smartphone. RadSmart is being developed in collaboration with Honeywell India (a unit of Honeywell International) and marketed by UNDT, under its brand.
RadSmart will utilize a Cesium Iodide (CsI) scintillator for the detection of Gamma rays. (CsI) scintillators are the most sensitive detection mechanisms for detecting Gamma radiation. RadSmart will be sensitive enough to measure normal radiation levels to 100 to 200 times that intensity. With the planned detection range of 0.001 to 9.999 µSv/h the device is expected to be capable of detecting traces of radiation on surfaces, clothing and, in particular, food contamination.
The smartphone application will give the user the ability to choose to utilize the device for detecting contamination in food or on surfaces, log the readings and share the accumulated readings with other users and databases through its social networking features. The application has been designed with the everyday user in mind with easily navigable menu options and options for sharing the data through Facebook, Twitter and radiation mapping databases.
Almost a year after the Sendai earthquake and tsunami that caused the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi, reports are emerging regarding the extent of release of radiation into the atmosphere. A study, published in the peer reviewed journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, states that the disaster released about 36,000 terabecquerels of Cesium-137, a radioactive byproduct of nuclear fission, more than twice the 15,000 terabecquerels Japanese authorities estimated -- and approximately 42% as much radioactivity as Chernobyl. The accumulation of Cesium-137 on farmland is a big issue with the Japanese ministry of agriculture mandating that 5 cm of topsoil should be removed prior to any farming activity.
"A year after the Fukushima disaster, the focus of the Japanese government has increasingly moved to the decontamination of the disaster area," said Mr. Jacques Tizabi, UNDT's Chairman and CEO. "RadSmart has been designed for this specific scenario as it will be able to geo-locate the particular test surface and compare data before and after decontamination," he added.