Handheld and More Capable

SMALLER AND MORE EFFECTIVE SENSORS, DETECTORS AND SAMPLING DEVICES HELP MINIMIZE THREATS FROM WMD MATERIALS.

More Capable

The 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review notes that the U.S. faces increasing danger from an expanding number of hostile regimes and terrorist groups that seek to acquire and use weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).

As potentially hostile states and terrorist groups possess or seek nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological weapons, technological trends heighten the threat. WMDs are no longer the sole undertaking of large, complex state weapons programs. These weapons are projected to be within the reach of state- and non-state actors in the coming decades, as technological advances and widely distributed technical information are making ever more dangerous weapons easier to produce.

The Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense (JPEO-CBD) has articulated its perceived technical gaps between existing chemical and biological equipment and the expanding number and variety of chemical, biological, radiation and nuclear threats.

The defense-industry team has its sights fixed on meeting that office’s challenges, in part, by bolstering the current generation of hand-held sensors, detectors and sampling devices.

WARFIGHTER NEEDS

In an advanced planning brief for industry delivered on April 26, 2005, the JPEO-CBD’s Joint Project Manager, NBC Contamination Avoidance, provided seven requirements and accompanying technical challenges for enhancing sensing and other capabilities.

The warfighters’ needs list included: small handheld (or smaller) detectors; remote and standoff detection; trace detection; confident detection and identification of unknowns in solid-, liquid- and gas phases; renewed emphasis on toxic industrial chemicals and materials and radiation detection; packaging for use on weapons platforms; communications-capable; and simple and robust designs that are easy to use.

A variety of technical impediments for meeting the warfighters’ requirements were also outlined. Five representative challenges which reportedly need fresh approaches to solve were: fielding lightweight detection equipment; reducing power requirements; rechargeable, common batteries; ultrasensitivity to very low levels of hazard; integration into relevant common operational picture; and detection of hazardous chemicals.

A survey of fielded and planned equipment reveals that industry has charted a course to meet the warfighters’ needs and overcoming the technical challenges.

BIOLOGICAL THREAT ANALYSIS

Biological threat analysis “is far more complex than chemical, nuclear and radiation detection for the following reasons: You cannot see, smell or taste most bio-warfare agents; bio-warfare agents can be present in very low concentrations; and it is difficult to distinguish a bio-warfare agent from naturally occurring background flora,” opined Kenny Yeh, director of sales, ICxMesoSystems.

These complexities have generated a three-fold approach to aerosolized bio-threat analysis: sampling (collecting a sufficient quantity of biological material from the air); detection (sensing a change in the quantity of aerosolized biological material); and identification (determining the identity of the biological agent).

“While there are large installed systems that can sample, detect and identify, there are no handheld systems on the market that can perform all three functions,” pointed out Yeh.
 
ICxMesoSystems’ AirSentinel sensor performs two functions: sampling and detection. The sensor is alternating-current-powered and employs an ultra-violet (UV)-based biological detector. The Air Sentinel’s size is 11.3 inches by 14.7 inches by 4.4 inches, which approximates the size of other handheld units.

When the AirSentinel detects a change in the air, it signals the system to automatically collect a sample.

The company recommends that its customers use a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology to identify the threat, and, in particular, Idaho Technology’s RAZOR Instrument, a handheld identifier which performs on-site PCR functions. According to the company the device can analyze up to 12,100-microliter samples in less than 30 minutes.

MMT’s readers will increasingly see PCR technology discussed in the literature for biological detectors. Smiths Detection reported that PCR is a new molecular technique that replicates the DNA structure of a bacterial or viral pathogen. With as little as a molecule, PCR can replicate the molecule up to billion-fold, providing enough genetic material for specific detection and positive identification of biological and viral agents of mass destruction.

Samplers may be employed any time personnel want to verify the presence or absence of a biological threat.

One of ICxMesosystem’s sampler products is the handheld BioCapture 650. This sampler has a flow rate of 200 liters per minute and collects biological material in the 0.5 to 10 micron range, including bacteria, spores, fungi and viral clusters. Collected particles are concentrated into a liquid buffer that can be easily analyzed by a variety of analytical methods, said Yeh. This sampler’s main advantage is touted to be the collection cartridge’s ability to hold, buffer and collect the air sample in an integrated disposable unit—eliminating the need to decontaminate the internal liquid and reducing the risk of cross contamination.

The company’s products are fielded to military, first responders and other organizations in the U.S. and other NATO nations, and elsewhere in Europe and Asia.

For its part, Smiths Detection has fielded Bio- Seeq, a handheld PCR-based biological agent detector. The unit is reported to be capable of detecting both bacterial and viral pathogens. Indeed, the company’s brochure states the product’s features and benefits include the ability to simultaneously process six divergent samples, and have the results available in 30 minutes or less.

One attribute of note is the sample preparation cartridge that allows samples to taken in the field and tests run on the spot. All the necessary reagents, filters and mixing chemicals required to process a biological or viral sample are in the same prep cartridge, eliminating the need for pipettes, sample vials and other material.

CHEMICAL EQUIPMENT

Chemical detectors and identification systems have evolved to support not only the warfighter in a WMD environment, but first responders in multidimensional threat environments with toxic industrial chemicals, explosives, narcotics and others hazards.

Matt Farr, senior homeland security analyst, Frost and Sullivan, was asked whether there has been a recent chemical or biological sensor system development that is worthy of special mention. He replied, Ahura Corporation’s FirstDefender and Smiths Detection Sabre 4000.

Ahura’s FirstDefender Handheld Chemical Identification system “is a breakthrough in accurate instantaneous identification of thousands of substances and billions of mixtures,” said Dr. Daryoosh Vakhshoori, founder and president, Ahura Corporation.

The FirstDefender provides its users with rapid and noninvasive assessments of potentially hazardous liquids and solids by employing Raman spectroscopy— which characterizes molecular vibrations in a material of interest and determines whether those vibrational signatures can be directly attributed to one of the thousands of compounds in its library. A partial list of the library’s vast holdings include WMDs, explosives and propellants, and commercial and industrial compounds.

“Unlike competitors’ products, FirstDefender can identify mixtures of chemicals. Ahura’s proprietary DecisionEngine Mixture Extensions software enables identification of products which themselves are mixtures, as well as up to five root components of a mixture,” Vakhshoori added.

He further described a unit’s operation. “Because the system utilizes laser light, FirstDefender can determine the composition of materials without contact with the sample. Compounds can be accurately analyzed even if sealed in glass or plastic containers. It requires no sample preparation nor any consumables. Just point and shoot for immediate and accurate results.”

The company claims that the device has a typical battery life of five hours and weighs less than four pounds.

FirstDefender is in service with the U.S. DoD and other federal agencies, and with the U.K. Ministry of Defence.

The Sabre 4000 handheld trace detector is one representative Smiths Detection product and is the “only portable trace detector that can detect threats from explosives, chemical warfare agents, toxic industrial chemicals or narcotics,” touts the company. The device reportedly can detect and identify over 40 of those threat substances in approximately 15 seconds. The unit is stated to have a cold start up time of 10 minutes, weighs about seven pounds and includes a four-hour battery. The Sabre 4000’s versatility includes its ability to analyze either trace particle or vapor samples.

Proengin’s AP2C portable chemical contamination control device is used to detect chemical warfare agents (G-series, VX and HD) in the form of vapor or aerosols.

The principle of the AP2C’s operation resides in detecting the atoms of phosphorus (contained in G and V agents) and sulfur (contained in HD and again, in V agents). The high sensitivity and fast response time is reported to make the product especially suitable to test for contamination and conduct checks post-contamination. For its part, Environics has fielded its ChemPro100 handheld detection and identification system, which is designed to detect chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial compounds and materials. The sensor reportedly can be operated using just one hand and can be powered by a rechargeable battery pack or AA batteries. Its operation is based on the open loop ion mobility spectrometry technology.

The device can store agent alarm information for retrieval at a later time to provide a historical log of events. The ChemPro100’s multiple applications include use as a personal detector, a monitor for surveying contaminated areas or a fixed-installation detector, said the company.

Bruker Daltonics’ RAID-M-100 handheld chemical agent monitor has found favor with military services in Germany and Denmark.

The detector is designed to monitor the decontamination of personnel or equipment in the field and within collective facilities by detecting, classifying and quantifying chemical agents. A partial list of detectable substances includes GA, GB and AC. G- and H-series agents can be detected simultaneously. The RAID-M’s rechargeable lithium ion battery pack has a minimum battery life of six hours.

JOINT CHEMICAL SOLUTION

The DoD is pursuing the Joint Chemical Agent Detector (JCAD) program to serve as a next-generation chemical detector.

Smiths Detection is supplying its Lightweight Chemical Detector (LCD) to the JCAD program for testing. That detector is a nonradioactive chemical warfare agent point detector capable of automatically detecting, identifying and quantifying both chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals.

The company, recently awarded its seventh contract option for the program, has supplied the U.S. Army with 140 LCDs for evaluation. The LCDs reportedly have the flexibility to be mounted on various forms of weapons platforms, and are in service with armed forces in other nations.

A JCAD detector unit will weigh less than two pounds, stated a U.S. Army Weapons Systems 2005 report. A JCAD program full rate production decision is expected at the end of fiscal year 2007.

RADIATION DETECTORS

Handheld and portable systems are capable of detecting, monitoring, identifying and measuring alpha, beta and gamma particles.

RAE Systems’ recent product offerings include the GammaRAE II Responder, which “combines two instruments in one: it has the rapid response of a detector and the accurate dose measurement of a dosimeter,” stated Thomas Negre, RAE Systems, global director for instrumentation products. The product is an upgrade of the firm’s GammaRAE II personal radiation detector, which is designed to provide rapid detection of gamma ray sources even in potentially flammable environments.

The AreaRAE Gamma is reported to be the first wireless, combined multi-gas and gamma radiation detector that is compact and easily transportable. The monitors “can be rapidly deployed and redeployed in situations that require a quick and adaptable response. They can be arranged in a perimeter to detect chemical hazards and to monitor the environmental safety of a large public event,” added Negre. The AreaRAE family of wireless monitors can communicate with and transmit sensor and Global Positioning System readings on a real-time basis to a base controller up to two miles away.

Bruker Daltonics’ handheld radiation detector can detect gamma and neutron radiation via two separate sensors. Additional probes, like an extended alpha-, beta- and gamma- probe, or external vehicle gamma probes, can be connected.

FUTURE PRODUCTS

Ahura will introduce the Raman Stylus XL in third quarter 2006. This snap-on fiber optic extension will easily attach to the laser aperture of the FirstDefender to ensure the same precision and accuracy with the added flexibility of a one-meter cable for hard-to-reach places. The extension will utilize the same nose cone and three-quarters of an inch working distance as the FirstDefender system and operates in the point-and-shoot mode.

The company will also introduce the Identifier in fourth quarter 2006. The device will be built on FirstDefender’s proven technology and is envisioned to be ideal for verification and authentication of materials in manufacturing, pharmaceutical and other industries. Identifier will “offer the same rugged, lightweight form factor as FirstDefender and includes Ahura’s embedded Decision EngineMX software for comprehensive analysis of compounds,” divulged Dr. Vakhshoori. ♦

Back_To_Top