The 30-second answer
The rest of this article breaks down the trade-offs in detail. If you’d rather just talk it through, call us and we’ll help you decide in five minutes on the phone.
Side-by-side
| Wiper Gold | Multi-Wiper | |
|---|---|---|
| Detector wells | 1 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, or 10 |
| Best for weekly survey size | Up to ~30 wipes/week | 40+ wipes/week, 100+ ideal |
| Footprint | 10.5 × 12 × 10 in (22 lb) | Floor-model bench unit |
| Energy range | Up to 1 MeV | Up to 1 MeV |
| MCA | True 4096-channel MCA built in | Wipe-test counter (no built-in MCA) |
| AutoSpect™ DPM | Yes | Yes |
| Spectrum Compensation | Yes | — |
| Unknown-isotope identification | Yes (PHA + isotope library) | Pre-specified isotope per wipe location |
| Decay Calculator | Yes (forward + reverse, ±70 yrs) | — |
| Iterative count | Up to 100 iterations | — |
| Sample volume correction | 5–8 dilution points / isotope | — |
| Programmable wipe locations | 30+ | 16 wipe sets × 20 locations = up to 320 total |
| Pre-programmed isotopes | 13 (Full, LS Full, Tc-99m, I-131, Ga-67, In-111, Co-57, Cr-51, Na-22, I-125, F-18, Ba-133, Cs-137) | 16 (Tc-99m, I-131, Co-57, Co-58, Cs-137, I-125, I-123, F-18, Ba-133, Ga-67, Cr-51, In-111, Tl-201, Xe-133, Sm-153, Na-22) |
| Customizable tests | 16 (1 pre-configured for the LS Full / Isopure assay; 15 user-configurable) | CPM Test Library — 1 test at a time |
| Calibration | Cs-137, Na-22, or Co-57 | Cs-137, Na-22, or Co-57 |
| Solid-state design | Yes (no moving parts) | Yes (no moving parts) |
| USA-built | Yes | Yes |
The volume-of-work decision
Most labs choose between these two instruments based on one number: how many wipes do you do per week?
A typical wipe with a 60-second count time takes about a minute on a single-detector counter. Forty wipes per week takes 40+ minutes of bench time. On a 10-well Multi-Wiper, those same 40 wipes complete in roughly four minutes — you’re loading the tray once and the array does the rest in parallel. Multiply that across 50 weeks of operation and the Multi-Wiper saves ~30 hours of technologist time per year, which is real lab capacity that can be redeployed to billable procedures.
Below ~30 wipes per week, that math flips. The Wiper Gold gets the survey done in real time, takes up less bench, and costs meaningfully less than a 10-well Multi-Wiper. The throughput case for the Multi-Wiper just isn’t there.
The MCA decision — only the Wiper Gold has it
The Wiper Gold ships with a true 4096-channel multi-channel analyzer (MCA) built into the instrument. This is the feature that puts it in its own category among single-detector wipe counters. With the MCA, the Wiper Gold can:
- Identify unknown isotopes from the spectrum itself, against the stored isotope library — useful when a contamination event needs forensic identification rather than confirmation against a pre-specified isotope.
- Run Pulse Height Analysis (PHA) with full ROI control, peak ID, FWHM, marker positioning, baseline subtract, and automatic dead-time correction.
- See sub-1-keV detail across the full 0–1000 keV range — 0.25 keV per channel resolution.
The Multi-Wiper is a wipe-test counter without a built-in MCA. It requires a pre-specified isotope per wipe location. For routine weekly surveys (where you already know what you’re testing for), that’s the right design — an MCA on every well would be expensive overkill. But if your operation needs forensic isotope identification capability on a wipe counter, that capability lives on the Wiper Gold, not the Multi-Wiper.
For an operation with both routine surveys AND occasional unknown contamination events, the right answer is often buy both: a Multi-Wiper for daily/weekly surveys and a Wiper Gold for forensic work and as a satellite-lab counter.
Decay Calculator and other Wiper-Gold-only features
Several capabilities exist on the Wiper Gold but not the Multi-Wiper:
- Decay Calculator — forward, reverse, or solve-for-target-activity, across roughly ±70 years from the measurement date.
- Iterative counting — repeat-count any sample up to 100 times, unattended, for statistical analysis or impurity detection.
- Sample volume correction — per-isotope, per-vial-type correction curves from 5 to 8 dilution points (50 µL to 3 mL).
These are real workflow features that come up in research labs, regulatory inspection contexts, and any setting where occasional non-routine work happens alongside the routine. They’re not on the Multi-Wiper because the Multi-Wiper is positioned for high-throughput wipe-test survey work, where those individual-sample analytical features aren’t the relevant capability.
The footprint decision
The Wiper Gold is 22 pounds and 10.5 × 12 × 10 inches. It fits on a satellite bench, a research desk, or anywhere with outlet space. The Multi-Wiper is a floor-model bench unit, sized for the multi-well array.
For a single-cyclotron radiopharmacy operating in 200 square feet of hot-lab space, the Wiper Gold’s compactness is itself a reason to choose it. For a multi-camera nuclear medicine department with a dedicated wipe-test bench, the Multi-Wiper’s footprint is a non-issue and its throughput is the deciding factor.
Budget & price point
The Wiper Gold is meaningfully less expensive than a 10-well Multi-Wiper. (We don’t publish list prices on the website — configurations vary, and a quote is a five-minute conversation. Contact us for current pricing.) For a single-instrument budget that needs to cover a wipe-test counter and possibly leave room for other instruments, the Wiper Gold is often the right answer.
The Multi-Wiper’s price-per-well is competitive once you’re actually using the wells. Below the throughput threshold, you’re paying for capacity you don’t use.
Made-in-USA, same engineering, same support
Both instruments are designed and manufactured by LTI in Elburn, Illinois, on the Genesys-platform detector architecture that has been in continuous service since 1985. Both use the same calibration sources (Cs-137, Na-22, Co-57). Both have the same UI conventions — a technologist trained on one is also trained on the other. Both are field-replaceable for parts; both are send-in repair if it’s beyond a parts swap. Both are USA-built.
So the support picture is identical. The capability and throughput pictures are the decision.
Quick-decision flowchart
- Surveying fewer than 30 wipes/week? → Wiper Gold
- Surveying 40+ wipes/week? → Multi-Wiper
- Need to identify unknown isotopes from a spectrum? → Wiper Gold (it has the MCA; Multi-Wiper does not)
- Tight bench-space constraints (research bench, satellite lab, vet hospital)? → Wiper Gold
- Multi-camera NM department with dedicated wipe-test space? → Multi-Wiper
- Have both routine survey AND occasional forensic / unknown-isotope work? → Both (this is more common than people expect)
Further reading
- Wiper Gold product page — full specs, AutoSpect™ & MCA spotlight, screen captures
- Multi-Wiper product page — full specs, walkthrough, real wipe-test report
- Multi-Wiper ROI calculator — plug your survey numbers in