The Naval Research Laboratory
(NRL) has received a patent (US 6,054,856) for a specialized
detection coil used in a nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) system
for detecting narcotics and explosives in luggage, mail, boxes,
or on a person. A similar NQR system has been field tested at
airports in the United States and overseas.
The geometry of the patented
coil causes electrical and magnetic noise to be canceled, providing
a larger signal-to-noise ratio in the NQR signal from the object
being tested. Because of its immunity to external electrical
and magnetic environmental noise, an NQR detection system with
the NRL-patented coil does not require external radio frequency
(RF) shielding, and would be more practical and suitable for
field use.
NQR is an RF spectroscopic technique,
related to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI). However, no large magnet is required in NQR. The
specimen is irradiated with RF energy at specific frequencies,
and the size of the return signal indicates the presence or absence
of known explosives and narcotics.
NRL's Dr. Allen Garroway and
his colleagues pioneered the practical use of NQR for explosives
and narcotics detection by successfully addressing the technical
issues required to take NQR out of the laboratory and into the
field.
This work has been funded since
1987 by the Federal Aviation Administration and Department of
Defense to advance U.S. capabilities in antiterrorism and antidrug
efforts and in landmine detection. Explosives detection systems
for package and baggage scanning in airports and other fixed
sites have been built by Quantum Magnetics, a subsidiary of InVision
Technologies, under NRL license.
This technology provides a major
advancement in the state of the art for explosives and narcotics
detection, and a potential break through for the detection of
land mines. In 1997, the Gore Commission (White House Commission
on Aviation Safety and Security) recommended that NQR systems
be purchased and deployed to enhance security at U.S. airports.
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory is the Navy's full-spectrum corporate laboratory, conducting a broadly based multidisciplinary program of scientific research and advanced technological development. The Laboratory, with a total complement of nearly 2,500 personnel, is located in southwest Washington, D.C., with other major sites at the Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Monterey, Calif. NRL has served the Navy and the nation for over 85 years and continues to meet the complex technological challenges of today's world. For more information, visit the NRL homepage or join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
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