A COMMERCIAL SIMULATOR FOR HEALTH PHYSICS TRAINING

RESEARCHERS ARE DEVELOPING AN INNOVATIVE NEW APPROACH TO LABORATORY TRAINING IN HEALTH PHYSICS, I.E., THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPUTER SIMULATOR THAT CAN BE USED IN PLACE OF ACTUAL RADIATION SOURCES IN LABORATORY TRAINING. SUCH A SIMULATOR RESULTS IN MUCH LOWER COST OF TRAINING, PROVIDES FOR A WIDER VARIETY OF TRAINING SITUATIONS, AND ELIMINATES THE SAFETY HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH ACTUAL RADIATION SOURCES. A COMPUTER SYSTEM THAT SIMULATES THAT SIMULATES THE PRESENCE OF VARIOUS TYPES OF RADIATION SOURCES IN A VARIETY OF ENVIRONMENTS IS BEING BUILT. THIS SYSTEM, BASED ON THE IBM PC, HAS THREE MODULES: SURVEYOR, RADIATION PHYSICS LABORATORY, AND EXAMINATION. THE SURVEYOR SIMULATES AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE RADIATION EXPOSURE POTENTIAL EXISTS AND INCLUDES PREDEFINED LOCATIONS (KNOWN OR UNKNOWN TO THE TRAINEE) OF RADIATION SOURCES (ALPHA, BETA, GAMMA, AND NEUTRON) AND THE ABILITY TO SIMULATE THE RADIATION LEVEL AT ANY GIVEN POINT IN THE RADIATION ENVIRONMENT. THIS MODULE IS BEING CONNECTED (THROUGH A DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER) TO AN ACTUAL INSTRUMENT (OR FACADE) SO THAT THE TRAINEE CAN HOLD THE INSTRUMENT IN HIS/HER HAND. THE RADIATION PHYSICS LABORATORY MODULE TEACHES THE PRINCIPLES OF VARIOUS TYPES OF RADIATION; AND THE EXAMINATION MODULE, BASED ON THE SURVEYOR, TESTS THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRAINEE OF THE PROPERTIES OF VARIOUS TYPES OF RADIATION AND THE ABILITY OF THE TRAINEE IN THE RADIATION ENVIRONMENT.