CSI: Miami puts spotlight on radiation detection equipment

CSI: Miami puts spotlight on radiation detection equipment The highly technical field of radiation detection equipment has received a dose of glamour in its normally white-smocked world after specialized equipment was used in three consecutive episodes of the popular TV show “CSI: Miami.”
   Paoli, Pa.-based Amatex Inc. has picked up some exposure as its equipment has been featured on the show to help solve crimes. The company's ORTEC Detective-EX Advanced Measurement Technology was first used in the episode “Vengeance” that aired May 9. The device was used to search for radioactive material from a radiography machine. Then in the related season finale May 23, “10-7,” investigators found the source of the radioactive material was being used in an attempt to make a “dirty bomb.”
   In between those, the May 16 episode, “Whacked,” featured the company’s EDAX Eagle micro-XRF elemental analyzer to link traces of cobalt found on clothing at a crime scene to a murderer.
   The ORTEC Detective-EX is a highly advanced radiation detector that is able to quickly and accurately differentiate between potentially dangerous and otherwise harmless radiation sources — a problem that has popped up in ports when imports that are not dangerous show traces of radioactive materials. The equipment can be also used in hazmat investigations.
   The EDAX Eagle micro-XRF elemental analyzer can be used for security situations such as examinations of residues from explosives.