CAPITAL STOCK (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012 item	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
CAPITAL STOCK
Preferred Shares, shares authorized	2,000,000	2,000,000	2,000,000
Preferred Shares, shares issued	0	0	0
Preferred Shares, shares outstanding	0	0	0
Common Shares, shares authorized	40,000,000	40,000,000	40,000,000
Common Shares (in dollars per share)	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0
Common Shares, shares outstanding	21,494,696	18,710,002	17,513,608
Shares Issuances related to Equity Compensation:
Shares issued upon exercise of stock options by employees	216,477	397,054	78,166
Proceeds realized from stock option exercises (in dollars)	$ 132,026	$ 719,484	$ 90,448
Average exercise price of options exercised (in dollars per share)	$ 0.61	$ 1.81	$ 1.16
Restricted Stock Grants (in shares)	235,000		235,000
Share issuances related to Warrant Exercises
Shares issued upon the exercise of warrants	288,217	799,340
Proceeds realized from warrant exercises (in dollars)	1,978,729	3,877,276
Share issuances related to Equity Offerings
Proceeds realized from equity offerings (in dollars)	16,120,669
Share issuances in Exchange for Services
Share issuances in Exchange for Services	200,000
Value of Shares issued in Exchange for Services (in dollars)	$ 1,854,000
Number of votes per common share	1
8.5% non-voting cumulative redeemable Series A Preferred Shares
CAPITAL STOCK
Preferred Shares, shares authorized	1,416,664	1,416,664	1,416,664
Preferred Shares, shares issued	0	0	0
Preferred Shares, shares outstanding	0	0	0
Preferred Shares, dividend percentage	8.50%	8.50%	8.50%
Preferred Shares, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 1.00	$ 1.00	$ 1.00