Thermo Electron today The Interceptor is a pager-sized instrument that enables anti-terrorism officials and other homeland security personnel to detect and identify possible nuclear threats. The Interceptor enables immediate identification of the radionuclide and electronically transmits the data, along with a digital picture and an audio description of the situation. The Thermo Electron spectroscopic personal radiation detector has features that have, until now, required two separate instruments -- a Personal Radiation Detector (PRD), and a Radiation Isotope Identifier Device (RIID). The PRD is a hand-held device that is easily clipped to a duty belt and used by an emergency responder to detect a potential threat. While PRDs communicate to a base station or appropriate experts; they do not pinpoint the type of isotope. That job typically falls to the RIID, a more sophisticated instrument, which is used to identify specific isotopes as the physical situation is assessed.
