• Company profile: ICx Technologies

    ICx Technologies has been largely built through the far-sighted and strategic acquisition of seventeen companies and the formation of two others since it was founded in 2003; the successful management of this growth has positioned the company as a technology leader in the detection and surveillance fields; 2007 was the company’s most successful year ever

  • Understanding – and minimizing – today’s prevalent CBRNE threats // by Matthew Sweatt

    Today’s response structures are too narrow in focus; while being prepared for a small pox attack is great, what would happen if another bio-toxin were used? Most billion-dollar detection equipment today only looks for anthrax, allowing today’s emerging threats easily to penetrate most systems

  • Company profile: Radiation Watch

    Company’s products are versatile, offering performance over a wide dynamic range of measurement, from very low to very high values, in one instrument

  • Company profile: Brijot Imaging Systems

    One of the promised benefits of millimeter wave technology is its ability to scan from distance making it particularly attractive in areas where human traffic is a problem for traditional screening methods

  • Nuclear detectors in Washington state detect radioactive cat

    DHS has radiation monitors along Interstate 5 to make sure no radioactive material is being smuggled into the country; the monitors are so sensitive that they detected a sick cat in a car driving at 70 miles per hour (the cat was taken home after cancer radiation treatment at the vet)

  • Intelligent wireless networks promoted by European consortium

    The proliferation of wireless communication-enabled embedded systems will have significant effects in areas from emergency management to critical infrastructure protection to healthcare and traffic control; European consortium to promote idea

  • Company profile: Universal Detection Technology (UDT)

    UDT licenses spore detection technology from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and commercializes it; UDT developed a real-time continuous detection device capable of identifying abnormal levels of bacterial spores in the air, which is signature of a possible anthrax attack

  • Pencilbeam X-ray technology for more effective luggage inspection

    New luggage screening technology investigates suspicious material by penetrating the luggage with a pencilbeam X-ray; new approach reduces instances of false alarms

  • Cat's eyes locate things underwater

    A new underwater cat’s eye can reflect back a tuned signal, revealing its location, to existing sonar systems; new device does not use batteries — and it does rely on toxic chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

  • UCSD researchers develop tiny explosive sensor

    Sensor works by monitoring the variability of electrical conductivity through thin films of metal phthalocyanines; “The detection capability of this tiny electronic sensor is comparable to current instruments, which are large, bulky and cost thousands of dollars each,” says William Trogler, UCSD professor of chemistry and biochemistry

  • CSC in $16 million contract to continue development of NEDSS

    The National Electronic Disease Surveillance System Base System (NEDSS) electronically links surveillance activities to improve the ability to track and identify emerging infectious diseases and potential bioterrorism attacks

  • With biological warfare, real-time detection is key

    The largest improvements in any biowarfare identification system’s performance will come in the form of smaller packages, more automated measurement, and faster measurement

  • ThruVision shows T5000 T-ray security imaging system

    T-rays operate in the terahertz region of the electromagnetic spectrum; T-ray-based detection system can see through clothing of still or moving individuals at a distance of up to twenty-five meters to reveal hidden objects

  • Fear of dirty bomb threat as U.K. ships plutonium to France

    Sellafield had an ambitious, £473 million plan: Make new nuclear fuel out of mixture of plutonium and uranium oxides recovered from used fuel; the plan flopped, and the company had to turn to its chief competitor, French firm Cogema, to fulfill its orders for the fuel material; trouble is, shipping the material to France on an unarmed ferry is dangerous, as the material could easily be used to make a dirty bomb

  • U.S. water supply contaminated by pharmaceuticals

    There are 302 million people in the United States, but over the past five years, the number of U.S. prescriptions rose 12 percent to a record 3.7 billion, while nonprescription drug purchases reached 3.3 billion; ingredients of these medications find their way to, and contaminate, the U.S. water supply; federal, state, and local governments do not regulate medical discharges into drinking water