A method to automate the radiological survey process

This document describes the USRAD system, a hardware/software ranging and data transmission system, that provides real-time position data and combines it with other portable instrument measurements. Live display of position data and onsite data reduction, presentation, and formatting for reports and automatic transfer into databases are among the unusual attributes of USRADS. Approximately 25% of any survey-to-survey report process is dedicated to data recording and formatting, which is eliminated by USRADS. Cost savings are realized by the elimination of manual transcription of instrument readout in the field and clerical formatting of data in the office. Increased data reliability is realized by ensuring complete survey coverage of an area in the field, by elimination of mathematical errors in conversion of instrument readout to unit concentration, and by elimination of errors associated with transcribing data from the field into report format. The USRAD system can be adapted to measure other types of pollutants or physical/chemical/geological/biological conditions in which portable instrumentation exists. 2 refs., 2 figs.