Accu-Dose™
Radiation Measurement
System
Quick-Start
Radcal Corporation
426 West Duarte Road
Monrovia, CA 91016-4591 USA
USA (626) 357-7921
Fax USA (626) 357-8863
email Service@radcal.com
www.radcal.com
Radcal Part # MNL/2086
4091183 Rev:B3
Firmware V7.03/7.23
Printed: Feb 2013
Accu-Dose
Thank you for choosing the Radcal Accu-Dose Analyzer for your
diagnostic x-ray measurement needs. Accu-Dose is one of the
family of the Accu-series analyzers. This Quick-Start Guide will
step you through Getting Started, which includes the basic
connections of the various ion chambers and battery charger as
well as the Operation of the system including the set-up menu
and making a measurement. Further details, including individual
chamber specifications, can be found in the User’s Guide on the
CD included with your system.
INTRODUCTION .................................... 1
GETTING STARTED ................................ 10
Operation ................................. 15
Display ................................... 17
Sounds ................................... 18
Making a measurement ..................... 18
Dose Rate ................................ 19
MAKING ION CHAMBER MEASUREMENTS ..... 21
PERFORMANCE ................................... 26
ACCESSORIES .................................... 29
XLPRO ................................... 29
90E6-2 - Extension cable .................... 31
10A96 Ion chamber Adapter .................. 32
WARRANTY ....................................... 34
INTRODUCTION
The Accu-Dose™ system measures dose, time, and more.
Measurements are processed and displayed by a
microprocessor-based control unit. To eliminate cable noise,
dose sensors connect to the control unit via a 4-m cable that
carries only digital signals and operating voltages.
Dose is measured using ion chamber or diode-dose sensors
connected directly to a digitizer-electrometer.
The table on page 6 lists available dose sensors.
The Accu-Dose Basic
system measures dose and dose rate.
The Accu-Dose Advanced
measures dose, dose rate and more
for radiography, fluoroscopy and leakage measurements. A USB
interface on the Accu-Dose Advanced allows a PC to control and
1
process measurements performed by the Accu-Dose™ System.
XLPRO, an Excel add-in, uses this capability to produce reports,
graphs and to automate measurements.
The Accu-Dose™ may be operated from a rechargeable NiMH
battery, from alkaline C cells, or from mains power.
The control unit is shown on page 5. The UP-arrow, DN-arrow,
select and test buttons and a 2-line display are on the front
panel. The green power button is located on the left end. The
battery charger connects at the rear.
The UP-arrow, DN-arrow and select pushbuttons are used to
navigate the menu and to activate measurements. The test
pushbutton provides a simulated x-ray signal so you can observe
how the measurements work. The power pushbutton provides for
orderly startup and shutdown.
2
Measurement results are presented on the display and are
available in digital formusing the USB connection (see XLPRO
page 29).
3
Accu-Dose™ Diagnostic Ion Chamber Components
A. Accu-Pro™ (9096) Control Unit
B. 10X6-6 Ion Chamber Sensor
C. 9660 Ion Chamber Digitizer
D. 90C6-4 Sensor Cable
4
5
Available Sensors Description
DDX6-W, M Dose diode sensors
10X6-6 In-beam, diagnostic x-ray ion chamber
10X6-6M Mammographic x-ray ion chamber
10X6-3CT CT measurement ion chamber
10X6-60 General-purpose ion chamber
10X6-180 100 ccm
2
scatter and leakage ion
chamber
10x6-1800 1800 cc high-sensitivityion chamber
6
Measurement Functions
Dose Dose Rate Time
Dose Accum/Hold Dose Rate Seconds*
Auto Dose* Max Dose Rate* Minutes*
Last Dose* Dose/pulse* Hours*
* available with the Accu-Dose Advanced only
7
Ion Chamber Dose Timing Specifications
Measuring time (pulse width)
The Auto-Dose mode Accu-Dose Advanced only provides a
pulse width (time) measurement capability when you use either
ion chambers or dose diodes.
For ion chambers, the 10X6-6 and 10X6-6M are recommended.
The range of pulse width extends from 10 ms to 9999s. The
uncertainty is 4 ms (or 50 ms for the 10X6-1800 only) plus 0.1%
of width.
The minimum dose rate for the 6cc Chamber is 650 mR/min or
95 μGy/s.
Minimum total dose for the 6cc Chamber is 0.54 mR or 4.7 μGy.
For other 10X6-series chambers, these minimums are inversely
proportional to chamber volume.
When using adapters for 10X5 or 10X9 chambers, time
measurements are valid for the -6 and -6M chambers only.
8
For time less than 10ms, dose diodes are recommended.
For the DDX6 diodes in Auto Dose the width uncertainty is 1.2 ms
plus 0.1% of width over a range from 5 ms to 9999 s. Minimum
dose rate is 102 μGy/s or 700 mR/min.
9
GETTING STARTED
This describes assembly and operation of the Accu-Dose™
System on page 5 comprising a control unit, a diagnostic kV
sensor and a 6cc ion chamber with an ion-chamber digitizer.
IMPORTANT: Stabilization is required before making any
ion chamber measurements. Stabilization is best done by
putting the unit in Dose Rate mode/High Sensitivity and
waiting for 3 minutes. See page 21 for details.
Assembly
Connect the sensor cable to the control unit
:
Insert the rectangular connector on the sensor cable into the
socket on the right side of the instrument with the Radcal logo
facing you. It will click into place. To disconnect, pinch the levers
on the side of the connector and pull it from the socket.
10
Sensor cable connection
11
Connect the ion chamber digitizer:
Align the red dots of the smaller round connector of the sensor
cable and corresponding connector of the digitizer and push to
engage. Pull on the ribbed metal ring to disconnect.
Connect the ion chamber
:
Connect the ion chamber to the larger circular connector on the
ion chamber digitizer. Align the red dots and push the connector
until the mating surfaces contact one another.
Never attempt to unscrew the connector.
12
13
Connect the battery charger:
The batteries are fully charged when they leave the factory and
may be charged before use. The charger connects to the rear of
the control unit. Plug it into an ac outlet. The charge indicator
should turn orange indicating the battery is being charged. The
instrument can operate while charging.
14
Operation
Turn on the Accu-Pro™:
Press the green power button. A beep sounds and a set of
vertical rectangles marches across the display to assure it is
operating, the calibration date is displayed, and self-test is
performed. During turn-on the control unit reads the type and
calibration factors of each sensor, measures the ion chamber
temperature and the ambient pressure. When self-test
completes, the display will show the chamber information:
6cc Corr 1.03
HV Stabilize 13s
while the ion chamber and bias supply stabilize. The 6cc Corr
value is the temperature/pressure correction that will be applied
to ion chamber readings. The stabilize value counts down to
zero.
15
When it reaches zero, pressure and temperature display:
Press 99.2 kPa
Temp 20.1 deg C
The top line of the display will then show:
Change or SELECT
and the second line will show setup or whatever measurement
mode was active the last time power off occurred.
If self-test is unsuccessful, a failure message is displayed.
Pressing UP or DN allows operation to proceed; however you
must resolve the problem before accurate measurements can be
performed. See the User’s Guide for error message information.
16
Display
Instrument operating status and measurement results are shown
on the 2-line display. In some cases there are more
measurements than will fit on 2 lines. Press selectto scroll
additional readings onto the display.
Characters at the left side of the display have special meaning:
For dose measurements:
? indicates dose-sensor signal was outside calibrated range.
> indicates high-sensitivity mode measurement.
[ indicates low-sensitivity mode measurement.
] indicates cumulative (zero-corrected) dose is negative.
> in Setup indicates a parameter choice. Press select to chose.
17
Sounds:
A short beep signals a key-press. A long beep signals an error.
Making a measurement:
The UP and DN arrows move through the main menu. The top
line of the display continues to show
Change or SELECT
while the second line shows the measurement you may select.
Pressing select starts the measurement. Pressing UP or DN
during a measurement while a function is selected ends the
measurement and returns to the main menu. Pressing select
during a measurement may restart the function or scroll the
display.
In the following section the test button simulates an x-ray
exposure. Normal measurements would be performed in the
same manner.
18
Dose Rate
Use UP or DN to reach Dose Rate then press select.
The display will briefly show
6cc Corr 1.02
measuring zero
after which it will become
[ Dose Rate
0.0 mR/min
The up arrow indicates low-sensitivity mode.
Press and hold test (or make an exposure).
The display becomes
[ Dose Rate
999.5 mR/min
19
Once the measurement has been completed, the display retains
the values. A subsequent exposure does not replace them until
the measurement is complete. The > appears to the left of the
exposure value to indicate signal-present. When it disappears, a
beep sounds and the new reading is displayed.
20
MAKING ION CHAMBER MEASUREMENTS
1. Allow the system to reach equilibrium by selecting dose rate
mode and waiting at least three minutes. Do not touch
digitizer. One does not need to shut the system off when
replacing chambers, however, do not disconnect the chamber
when actual measurements are being made. Each time a
new chamber is used, the system must re-stabilized.
Note: For changing environments, allow 10 minutes per 10 C
for the sensor/electronics to equilibrate.
2. Ensure that the system is set to high sensitivity on
(Setup->Mode SELECT->High sensitivity->On). This ensures
that the system performs a fine zero (as opposed to a coarse
zero) prior to every measurement.
3. Do not move or touch the digitizer or the ion chamber during
the zero measurement interval. If low-level measurements are
being made and there is a significant delay between
21
measurements (> 2-3 minutes) it is prudent to force a full
re-zero by exiting the mode and re-entering.
22
Setup options
The Setup menu allows control of a number of options. The
defaults are listed below. See the User’s Guide for more
information. (* Accu-Dose Advanced only)
Main menu:
Dose Rate, Auto Dose*
Mode:
Ion chamber correction: temperature, pressure.
Ion chamber high sensitivity: disabled
Auto shutdown: 30 min
Units: Roentgens, minutes
23
To reset options to factory defaults:
Press UP until
Change or SELECT
Setup
appears. Press select to enter Setup.
Press DN twice until
SELECT restores
setup defaults
appears. Press select:
Accept changes ?
> OK
24
should appear. Press DN until
Press SELECT to
exit Setup
appears. Press select.
Accept changes?
> OK
appears again. Press select to return to the main menu with all
SETUP options at factory defaults.
25
PERFORMANCE
(See User’s Guide for complete specifications)
Ion Chamber Measurement Specifications
Accuracy: ±5% at reference conditions.
See User’s Guide for detailed specifications
26
Dose-Diode Measurement Specifications
40kVp - 120kVp, 2.5mm Al
Energy dependance: ±5%
25kVp - 30kVp, 30 μm Mo
Energy dependance: ±5%
These sensors are calibrated for Mo/Mo. No corrections are
applied for other anode/filter combinations.
27
28
ACCESSORIES
XLPRO
XLPRO is a Microsoft Excel add-in that allows using the
computational and display capabilities of Excel to record, analyze
and display Accu-Dose measurement results on a PC. USB
communication is only supported by XLPRO-USB (XLPRO
Version 4.0 and above). See the XLPRO documentation for
details.
! Turn on the Accu-Dose. Connect a USB cable between
the PC and the Accu-Dose. If the green LED illuminates
the Radcal USB software is installed on the PC; otherwise
you need to install XLPRO version 4 or later.
Turn on the Accu-Dose, wait for self-test to completed, and then
start XLPRO.
29
! XLPRO is now in control of the Accu-Dose and the
controls don’t work. The display reads:
Control locked
by PC over USB
! While XLPRO is making measurements under computer
control the display will show the measurement results;
however user control is still disabled. User control is
restored when the connection is broken or when the
XLPRO session is ended.
30
90E6-2 - Extension cable
The extension cable allows one to place the ion chamber up 2
meters away from the digitizer. (Other lengths available)
31
10A96 Ion chamber Adapter
This adapter adapts the 10X5 ion chambers to the 9660 ion
chamber digitizer. It contains a microprocessor that translates
between the jumpers, resistors and potentiometer located within
the probe stem of 10X5-series ion chambers into signals that
mimic the EAROM that holds calibration and chamber-type
information the Accu-Pro™ requires. A temperature sensor is
included to provide that information also. Its diameter is slightly
larger than that of the chamber stem, with a hard-mounted 1015
connector on one end and a 9096-style connector on the
opposite end. It draws power from the 9660 Ion Chamber
digitizer.
32
33
WARRANTY for the Accu-Dose™ Measurement System
Radcal Corporation warrants that, in the event that any defects in
material or workmanship should develop within one year of the
date of shipment, the company assumes full responsibility for
servicing equipment of its manufacture without charge upon return
of the equipment to Radcal, with shipping costs prepaid by the
customer. Costs to return-ship to customer by ground
transportation will be paid by Radcal if the repairs are warrantyapplicable. This warranty excludes batteries.
Radcal shall not be held liable for damages or delays caused by
defects beyond making repairs or furnishing replacement parts,
nor shall Radcal be liable for any defective material replaced
without Radcal’s consent during the period of this warranty. Radcal
reserves the right to perform warranty services at its own factory.
34
Non-Warranty Repairs
The calibration of this instrument was correct within specified limits
when the instrument left our factory. Radcal cannot be responsible
for injury or damage resulting from improper use or calibration
errors which develop subsequent to our shipment of the
instrument.
If Radcal determines that a fault has been caused by misuse,
abnormal operating conditions, or repairs by unauthorized
personnel during the warranty period, repairs and shipping costs
will be billed at normal rates.
If the equipment is found to be in proper working condition, Radcal
will return-ship the equipment at customer expense.
35
Declaration of Conformity
According to ISO/IEC 17050 and EN 45014
The Radcal Corporation declares, under our sole responsibility, that the
Accu-Dose
™ Measurement System conforms to the following product
specifications.
EMC:EN 61326-1
QA Manager
Date: 2008 May 12
Radcal Corporation
426 West Duarte Road
Monrovia, CA 91016-4591 USA
36
Loading...