Real-time confirmation of electron-beam dose

A new development in electron beam irradiation offers the opportunity to make real time measurements during irradiation to enhance quality assurance measures. With the new CDose(TM) scheme, the product identity and an image of the two dimensional product dose are presented to the operator as a moving electrographic image and stored to provide a permanent record of the irradiation. The electrographic images show each item on the tray and provides a non-intrusive method of assuring the orientation and packing of each item. The prescribed integrated-dose is also assured by the image. The image is produced by collecting the electron current from the accelerator's beam stop and plotting the calculated product dose as a function of the instantaneous beam and tray position. The techniques described in this paper are most useful when irradiating high value items such as advanced composite aircraft parts or medical devices where evidence is required to show that each unit was processed correctly.