Implant Sciences Awarded Patent for Hyphenated Explosives Trace Detection Method

Published on May 19, 2012 at 6:14 AM

By Kalwinder Kaur

Implant Sciences, a provider of advanced sensors and systems for security, safety, and defense markets, has announced that it has been awarded a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a method to detect, identify and analyze trace amounts of chemical agents, explosives and narcotics in real-time.

The patent titled, "Real-Time Trace Detection by High Field and Low Field Ion Mobility and Mass Spectrometry," was awarded patent # 8,173,959. This is Implant Sciences’ thirteenth patent. It covers a method that utilizes mass spectrometry, differential mobility spectrometry and ion mobility spectrometry for hyphenated trace detection.

The Vice President of Technology at Implant Sciences, Todd Silvestri, commented that the technology mentioned in the patent will be the basis for future trace detection equipment of the next generation. The new technology will maintain the positive factors of IMS throughput, and also have the capacity to detect more types of threats with less number of false alarms and better precision.

The Chief Operating Officer at Implant Sciences, Dr. Bill McGann, stated that mass spectrometry has around for more than 10 years, and it has been showing promise in the field of trace detection. Utilization of the technology will improve global security through widening the range of detection capabilities. The company aims to convert potential science into feasible technology, he said.