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                 FWT-100 Radiachromic Reader 


The FWT-100 Radiachromic Reader is a computer controlled 
densitometer designed to read the FWT-60-00 Radiachromic 
Detectors.  The complete reader system consists of a computer 
(IBM PC\XT\AT compatible), the reader head, an ADC card for 
the computer, a cable to connect the head to the card, and 
software. 


Hardware Installation 

ADC Board
Before installing the ADC board in the computer you need to 
note the base address of the board.  If you have other 
expansion cards in the computer you should also check that 
the base address does not conflict with the address of the 
other cards.  If necessary, the base address may be altered 
by changing the DIP switch on the ADC card. 

To determine the base address of the card examine the DIP 
switch settings and the numbers printed on the board (not the 
DIP switch numbering).  Table 1 gives the decimal and 
hexadecimal values and the position of each switch for five 
typical switch settings.  It is recommended that one of these 
settings be used.  The card is originally set up with an 
address of 0x300. 

Note the base address of the card so that this may be 
specified in the configuration file for the software. 

NOTE: Since computers vary in style you should consult your 
systems manual for details on installing an expansion card in 
your computer.  If you purchased a complete system (including 
computer) from Far West Technology the card is already 
installed and set to address 0x300. 

To install the board in the computer you should first make 
sure that the computer is turned off and unplugged.  Next 
open the case to allow access to the expansion slots.  Choose 
an appropriate empty slot for the card.  Remove the retaining 
bracket, being careful not to drop the screw in the computer.  
Firmly insert the card in the slot and screw the bracket to 
the chassis.  Replace the case. 


Connecting the Head to the Card
Before connecting the head to the card you should make sure 
that the computer is turned off.  Connect either end of the 
supplied cable to the card and the other end to the reader 
head (the two ends are interchangeable).  Securely fasten 
them by tightening the screws on the connectors. 


Lamp Replacement
The FWT-100 comes with a lamp installed and one spare lamp.  
When the lamp burns out or becomes too dim you should replace 
it.  To replace the lamp first remove the access cover by 
unscrewing the black thumb screw on the back of the reader 
head.  Remove the access cover and, from the bottom of the 
reader, unscrew the black thumb screw which holds the lamp in 
place.  Disconnect the lamp from the circuit board by pulling 
the connector off the board.  Remove the lamp and discard it.  
Insert the new lamp into the holder as far as it will go and 
tighten the thumb screw just enough to prevent the lamp from 
moving.  Do not overtighten the screw or you may damage the 
lamp's housing.  Attach the lamp's connector to the circuit 
board.  Screw the access cover back in place. 


Holders
The FWT-100 comes with two holders, the film holder and the 
neutral density filter holder, which has a wider slot than 
the film holder.  To remove a holder unscrew the thumb-screw.  
A spring will push the holder up as you unscrew the screw.  
You may need to apply a little downward force on the body of 
the holder to ease pressure.  To insert a holder, drop it 
into the slot and press it down while screwing the screw in.  
Make sure that the thumb screw is securely fastened and that 
the holder is even with the block surrounding it.  If it is 
not secured down completely the computer will not be able to 
detect accurately that there is no film present in the holder.  
Both of these holders may be taken apart to clean the inside 
of the holder. 





Software Installation
As with most software it is recommended that you make a 
backup copy of the original disk and store the original in a 
safe place.  Use the DOS DISKCOPY command to make a backup 
copy.  First make sure you have a blank formatted disk 
available.  Next, insert the original program disk into drive 
A: and type DISCKCOPY A: A: at the DOS prompt.  (DISKCOPY.COM 
should be in the path or the current directory.)  Follow the 
prompts with regards to switching disks.

The next step is to make a working copy of the program.  The 
working copy may be on a floppy disk or in a directory on a 
hard disk.  It should contain three files: FWT100.EXE, 
FWT100.CFG and FWT100.CAL.  The first is the executable 
program, which may be placed in the current directory or in 
a directory included in the PATH environment variable.  The 
second is the configuration file and the last is calibration 
information which will calculate absorbed dose based on net 
optical density and thickness of the radiachromic detector.  
These two files should be in the directory from which you 
start the program.

NOTE:  The supplied FWT100.CAL file is only a sample to show 
how such a file is set up (see below for details of how this 
file is set up).  It should NOT be used for determining 
actual absorbed dose. 



Configuration File FWT100.CFG:
The configuration file FWT100.CFG is an ASCII text file.  It 
should be modified using an ASCII text editor or the ASCII 
mode (sometimes called non-document mode) of a word-
processing program.  This file contains the default values of 
many parameters used by the program.  The following describes 
the data included in this file and the order in which the data 
should be specified. 


Port Batch StartId Thk NormThk Wl UseDefBkg MeasurePost Prec 

The parameters are:
  Port - Hexadecimal base address for the ADC card.
  Batch - Batch number of the film; this determines which 
      calibration curve will be used to assign a dose.
  StartId - ID for the first dosimeter.
  Thk - Average thickness of the film being used.
  NormThk - The thickness to which net optical densities 
      are normalized. 
  Wl - Starting wavelength.  Specify 600 or 510.
  UseDefBkg - Non-zero integer if the default bkg should be 
      used for the detectors.
  MeasurePost - Non-zero integer if the post-irradiation 
      optical density is to be measured.
  Prec - An integer value greater than or equal to 0 
      indicating how many decimal places should be used in 
      reporting doses. 

The entries must be separated by at least one space and the 
parameters may be on more than one line. The Batch and 
StartingId parameters are alphanumeric strings.  They may 
contain any sequence of printable characters (spaces 
excluded) and may have up to 10 characters each.  

EXAMPLE:  The sample configuration file contains the line:

300 8W9 001 47.5 50.8 600 0 1 2

This indicates that the ADC board is at address 300 
(hexadecimal), which is the factory setting.  The current 
film is from batch 8W9 and the first dosimeter's number is 
001.  The average thickness of the film currently being used 
is 47.5 microns and is being normalized to 50.8 micron film 
(the calibration data was normalized to 2 mil = 50.8 micron 
film).  The program will start measuring on the 600 nm 
wavelength and will not use the default background.  It will 
measure post irradiation optical densities and will report 
doses to two decimal places, such as 2.48.



Calibration File FWT100.CAL:
The calibration file FWT100.CAL is also an ASCII text file 
and should be modified using an ASCII text editor or the non-
document mode of a word-processor.  This file contains 
information pertaining to the calibration curve you develop 
for the film.  See below for the data included in this file 
and Table 2 for an explanation of the type of curves you can 
specify for the calibration. 

Each line of the calibration file should have the following 
parameters: 

   Wl CalibId Batch Bkg Min Max Eqn p0 p1 p2 p3 p4 p5

where 
  Wl = Wavelength to which this calibration applies.
  CalibId = Calibration identification.
  Batch = Batch to which this calibration applies.
  Bkg = Default background optical density.
  Min = Minimum normalized specific optical density to which 
      this calibration applies.
  Max = Maximum normalized specific optical density to which 
      this calibration applies.
  Eqn = Type of equation the calibration uses (see Table 2).  
      This is a single character.
  p0...p1 = The six parameters of the calibration curve.  
      Note that all six parameters must be specified even if 
      the curve takes less than six parameters (such as the 
      power series). 

EXAMPLE:  The sample FWT100.CAL file contains the data:

510 Sample 8W9 .055 .03 2.0 3 .05 .482 .2 2.27 .4 5.32
600 Sample 8W9 .060 .03 2.0 3 .3 ..338 .8 1.06 1.5 2.22

This indicates that there are two calibrations, one for 510 
nm and the other for 600 nm, and that both are called Sample 
and are for batch 8W9.  The default background for the 510 
wavelength is 0.055 and for the 600 wavelength is 0.060.  The 
calibration for both wavelengths is considered good for 
normalized specific optical densities in the range 0.03 to 
2.0 and both use 3-point Lagrangian interpolation.  The 
remaining six numbers on both lines are the six parameters. 
For the 3-point Lagrangian interpolation these parameters 
represent three (SOD, dose) points of the calibration curve.  

     Table 2 - Equations supported by the FWT100 program.


Equation    Single   Algebraic Representation
   type    Character
__________________________________________________________________

Power Series   L     p0 * SOD^p1
                       (NOTE: the parameters are typically 
                        determined from a linear regression 
                        of log(SOD) vs. log(dose) 


Polynomial     P     p0 + p1 * SOD + p2 * SOD^2 + ... + p5 * SOD^5


Exponential    E     p0 * exp(p1 * SOD)


Interpolation  I          SOD - p0
(Linear)             p1 + --------  (p3-p1),
                           p2 - p0              

                         where (p0, p1) = first (SOD, dose) pair
                           and (p2, p3) = second (SOD, dose) pair
              

3-point        3     (SOD-p2) (SOD-p4) p1   (SOD-p0) (SOD-p4) p3
Lagrangian           -------------------- + --------------------
Interpolation          (p0-p2) (p0-p4)        (p2-p0) (p2-p4)

                                (SOD-p0) (SOD-p2) p5
                              + --------------------
                                  (p4-p0) (p4-p2)
            
                        where (p0, p1), (p2, p3) and (p4, p5)
                        are three (SOD, dose) pairs

In these equations, SOD refes to the specific optical density 
of the detector.  p0...p5 refer to the parameters of the 
equation as they are to be specified in the calibration file 
FWT100.CAL. 



Running the FWT100 program:
To run the FWT100 program the executable file FWT100.EXE must 
be in the current directory or in a directory specified in 
the path command.  The configuration file FWT100.CFG must be 
in the current directory.  The calibration file FWT100.CAL 
should be in the current directory; if it is not, the program 
will still run but it will not assign doses.  To start the 
program type FWT100 from the DOS prompt.  There are several 
command line options which may specified to override the 
default values and the values in the configuration file.  
These options include the following: 

-istart_id  Sets the starting id for the detectors.
-xaddress   Hexadecimal address of the ADC card.
-daddress   Decimal address of the ADC card.
-b          Measure the background of the detectors.
-p          Measure the post-irradiation optical density.
-tthk       Set the default film thickness to thk.
-wwl        Set the starting wavelength to wl (510 or 600).
-f          Turns off film present detection.

The leading '-' and first letter are the command line 
switches.  If the switch takes a parameter (such as thk) it 
should immediately follow the first letter; there should not 
be a space between the switch character and the parameter. 


The software is menu driven with some options having hotkeys.  
The options are listed below, grouped by the main menu 
category.  To activate one of the main menus simply press 
the first letter of the desired menu (e.g. 'F' for the file 
menu).  Options within a menu are typically chosen by 
pressing the highlighted letter of that option or by moving 
the selection bar to the option and pressing the ENTER key. 

FILE Menu

Load - Loads a previously saved file.  After loading a file 
you are queried about what type of readings to take. 

Save - Saves a file to disk.

Change Dir - Allows you to change the current working drive 
and/or directory. 

Print Data - Prints the data to a file or to the printer.  
The default file is PRN which should direct the data to the 
printer. 

OS Shell - Shells from the program to DOS while keeping the 
program and data loaded.

Quit - Exit the program.


EDIT Menu
Opens up an editing window for the current dosimeter (the 
entry tagged on the left side of the screen by an inverse 
video '>').  See Table 3 for a list of commands used in 
editing.


           Table 3 - Input Field Editing Keys


          Key                  Action
          ---                  ------
        LeftArrow             cursor left
        RightArrow            cursor right
        UpArrow               cursor up
        DownArrow             cursor down
        Ctrl-LeftArrow        word left
        Ctrl-RightArrow       word right
        Tab                   field right
        Shift-Tab             field left
        Enter                 process field
        Ctrl-Enter            process all fields
        Decimal (.)           move to right side of decimal point
        Home                  beginning of field
        End                   end of field line / end of field
        Ctrl-Home             beginning of first field
        Ctrl-End              end of last field
        Ins                   toggle field insert mode
        Del                   delete character at cursor
        BackSpace             delete character left
        Ctrl-BackSpace        delete word left
        Ctrl-R                restore field to original contents
        Ctrl-T                delete word right
        Ctrl-U                delete to end of field
        Ctrl-Y                delete to end of last field
        Esc                   abort data entry (if Escape checking is on)

OPTIONS Menu

Neutral Density Filter Check - This option guides you through 
an optical density check using the FWT-160 standard neutral 
density filter set.  The results of this check are displayed 
on the screen as well as being appended to the file 
FILTERS.LOG in ASCII format. 

Readings - Lets you specify the type of readings to be done.  
These include:
  Background Readings - For reading background OD.
  Normal Final Readings - For reading the post-irradiation OD 
     of the Radiachromic Detectors.  Choosing this option 
     will also open a window requesting whether the 
     background should be assigned a default value.  If a 
     calibration exists for the proper batch then a dose will 
     be calculated after the OD is read.
  Calibration Final Readings - Takes the post-irradiation OD
     for a calibration set.  This will prevent the program 
     from calculating a dose for the dosimeter.


SETUP Menu

Zero Reader - The program automaticallly zeroes on a regular 
basis, so this option should rarely be needed.  It is 
provided for the instance where zero drift may occur without 
detection (e.g. when in one of the menus or in the DOS shell 
for an extended period of time).  This will zero the reader on 
the current wavelength.  This option should be chosen only 
when the film holder is empty.  This may be activated by 
pressing 'Z' when reading optical densities.

Wavelength - This option lets you choose either the 510 nm or 
the 600 nm wavelength for measuring optical densities.  This 
may be activated by pressing 'W' when reading optical 
densities.


Accepting an OD Reading

The optical density reading is automatically accepted after 
about two seconds, unless the -f command line option was 
chosen when running the program.  Additionally, pressing the 
ENTER key or depressing the button on the reader head will 
accept to current OD reading for the current detector.  The 
current detector is indicated by an inverse video '>' on the 
left side of the screen.  You may change the current detector 
by using the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW cursor keys to move to 
the desired detector.  After an OD reading is accepted the 
next detector will become the current detector.  If there is 
no next detector then one will be created and assigned the 
next sequential ID.  ID's are incremented 'odometer' style, 
with 'z', 'Z' and '9' advancing to 'a', 'A' and '0', 
respectively.  Thus 'AZ-9.z' would advance to 'BA-0.a'.


                  ROUTINE DOSE MEASUREMENTS
For routine dose measurements the following are the typical 
steps which may be taken. 

1. Make sure the reader head is connected to the computer and 
that the computer is turned on.  Switch to the directory from 
which you want to run the program and type FWT100 at the DOS 
prompt.  Include any appropriate command line switches and 
press ENTER.  The program should load and then take a few 
seconds to initialize.  The current optical density is 
displayed in large digits in the lower left corner of the 
screen.  The data is displayed in the middle window.

2. Load an existing data file, if desired, by choosing the 
File Load option.  A file selection window will open.  Use 
the cursor keys to highlight the desired file, then press 
ENTER.

3. If the wavelength is incorrect, change it by choosing the 
Setup Wavelength option.  The current wavelength is displayed 
on the screen to the right of the large OD display.

4. Make sure the reader is zeroed.  The large OD display may 
fluctuate between + or - .001; this is normal.

5. Insert a dosimeter in the slot in the film holder.  Unless 
the -f command line option was chosen, the read head will 
beep after about 2-3 seconds, indicating that the OD reading 
has been accepted for that dosimeter.  You may also press 
the ENTER key or the button on the read head to accept a 
reading (this is required if the -f command line optiom was 
chosen).  Repeat this step for each dosimeter, periodically 
checking the zero.  You should periodically save the data 
(using the File Save option) to protect against loss of 
readings. 

6. When all dosimeters have been read the data may be saved 
on disk or printed out.  These are the File Save and the File 
Print options, respectively.

7. To terminate the reading session, exit the program using 
the File Quit option or using the ALT-X hotkey.


