On-Line Data Collection by Computer in a Multi-Experiment Biomedical Gamma Spectroscopy System

A system is described in which a PDP-8 computer collects data on-line from up to twenty high-resolution pulse height analyzers used in biomedical gamma spectroscopy counting. The computer takes data directly from the analog-to-digital converters and stores it unsorted on IBM magnetic tape. These tapes are sorted and analyzed off-line on larger computers. An oscilloscope provides two modes of display of the spectral data being collected. Through another interface, the PDP-8 accepts complete spectra dumped from the memories of other analyzers operating off-line.