Handheld Isotope ID devices are primarily treated as scientific instrumentation.  As a result, Isotope ID’s

have not been deployed in large enough numbers to adequately fulfill the “mission”.  The reasons for the slow

spread of identifiers into more general use by security forces are many: 

         Current technology tends to be based on a single primary detector with each detector having strengths

and weaknesses.  This leaves the operator to interpret ambiguities and resolve discrepancies in the primary

detector’s weaknesses.  The more problem solving and interpretation the operator has to perform, the greater

the training required, leaving the isotope identification mission in the hands of specialists. 

         The requirements of the isotope identification component of the security mission can be most efficiently

met by sensor fusion between multiple sensor technologies, allowing the strengths of each detector type to

balance and offset the weaknesses of the others.