Radiological Source Surveillance With V-RADS Video-Centric Radiatiion Detection

Radiological sources are in everyday use in numerous industries. Illicit removal of this material from storage could result in construction of a Radiological Dispersal Device or "Dirty Bomb." A pervasive means of securing radiological materials and identifying breaches in security is required. Ideally, existing passive surveillance technology would be used, thereby enabling rapid and cost effective deployment. Advanced Fuel Research (AFR) developed and is commercializing a software solution designed to reduce the likelihood of malicious use of radiological materials. Analytical software (U.S. Patent number 7,391,028) evaluates images from security cameras to search for the characteristic small "spots" that appear in images when a radiological source is nearby. AFR's Radiation Event Detection System: Tracking And Recognition (RedStar (TM)) software detects these image artifacts. The software's data capture and analysis routines feed an alert messaging engine. When the software detects radiological sources, it sends alert messages using a variety of open protocols. Under the Phase 1 project, RedStar data flexibility was upgraded and tested at Hartford Hospital. During the week-long test, it detected the radiation source each time it was used, detected the source while it was still in its shielded container, and produced zero false alarms.