Library correlation nuclide identification algorithm

A novel nuclide identification algorithm, Library Correlation Nuclide Identification (LibCorNID), is proposed. In addition to the spectrum, LibCorNID requires the standard energy, peak shape and peak efficiency calibrations. Input parameters include tolerances for some expected variations in the calibrations, a minimum relative nuclide peak area threshold, and a correlation threshold. Initially, the measured peak spectrum is obtained as the residual after baseline estimation via peak erosion, removing the continuum. Library nuclides are filtered by examining the possible nuclide peak areas in terms of the measured peak spectrum and applying the specified relative area threshold. Remaining candidates are used to create a set of theoretical peak spectra based on the calibrations and library entries. These candidate spectra are then simultaneously fit to the measured peak spectrum while also optimizing the calibrations within the bounds of the specified tolerances. Each candidate with optimized area still exceeding the area threshold undergoes a correlation test. The normalized Pearson's correlation value is calculated as a comparison of the optimized nuclide peak spectrum to the measured peak spectrum with the other optimized peak spectra subtracted. Those candidates with correlation values that exceed the specified threshold are identified and their optimized activities are output. An evaluation of LibCorNID was conducted to verify identification performance in terms of detection probability and false alarm rate. LibCorNID has been shown to perform well compared to standard peak-based analyses.