Bruker’s Autonomous Rapid Facility Chemical Agent Monitor advances to DHS Phase IIIb
Bruker uses its proprietary RAID Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS) technology for the Autonomous Rapid Facility Chemical Agent Monitor Program, which is designed for long-term monitoring of ambient air for the presence of hazardous chemical vapors in the interior or exterior of critical government buildings, subways, airports and other facilities; the company says it has also developed a new product – the DE-tector — which uses next-generation IMS technology with selectivity and specificity that approaches that of mass spectrometry
Billerica, Massachusetts-based Bruker Detection earlier this week announced that it has advanced to the last phase of DHS Autonomous Rapid Facility Chemical Agent Monitor (ARFCAM) Research & Development Program which is intended to develop the 3rd generation chemical detection capability for critical infrastructure.
Bruker’s ARFCAM is a gas trace detector for the detection of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) and toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) based on Bruker’s proprietary RAID Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS) technology. The company says the ARFCAM is specifically designed for long-term monitoring of ambient air for the presence of hazardous chemical vapors in the interior or exterior of critical government buildings, subways, airports and other facilities.
Bruker said that with its own R&D investment, the company has also developed a novel, combined Drugs and Explosives trace detector, called the DE-tector, for airport and other check-point applications. The DE-tector uses Bruker’s next-generation RAID IMS technology with improvements in technology and detection algorithms for better detection capabilities and specificity. The DE-tector, which is being launched in 2010, should be considered a leap forward in explosives trace detection using next-generation IMS technology with selectivity and specificity that approaches that of mass spectrometry.
Frank Thibodeau, vice president of Bruker Detection Corporation, commented: “The ARFCAM R&D program consisted of a challenging competitive and incremental development of chemical detection technology under demanding environments which pushed the limits of chemical point detection systems. The Bruker ARFCAM prototype has performed very well in this development program and has been selected by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for final development and field testing in Phase IIIb. We are delighted to have been selected for the final phase of ARFCAM, and believe that Bruker’s robust and proven RAID(TM) IMS technology, unsurpassed detection capability, and proprietary industry-leading false-alarm suppression have led to this award. These technological features are also built into our industry-leading RAID(TM)-M handheld detector, RAID(TM)-XP portable combined chemical and gamma radiation detector, RAID(TM)-S2 shipboard detector, as well as our RAID(TM)-AFM Autonomous Facility Monitor for critical building and infrastructure protection.”
