Duke, UNC profs use X-rays to detect bombs A team of scientists from Duke, UNC and two other universities is developing X-ray technology that it says could identify explosives much more effectively than the scanners now used in U.S. airports. The technology can identify specific compounds, including the various nitrate compounds used in bombs, Duke Prof. David Brady says. Currently available scanners produce images based on the density of the materials being scanned. They’re good at detecting guns and other metal objects, but not bombs, which can be much less dense. In contrast, the new technology would beam X-rays through luggage in particular patterns. Sensors would then detect how the rays scatter after passing through the material. Different compounds cause radiation to scatter in different patterns, and a machine could be programmed to detect the particular scatter patterns from hundreds of specific compounds. The machine would alert a TSA employee to check the passenger for traces of the explosive material using a swab and a chemical test, using technology now under development by Duke and RTI International, Brady says. Brady says he’s in discussions with most of the companies that make existing scanners, and that next-generation scanners could go into production as soon as 2014. Brady’s team also includes researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, and Washington University in St. Louis., and used $8 million in funding from the Department of Homeland Security, he says. [From bizjournals]
Posted on: Mon, 29 Jul 2013 15:34:44 +0000
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