Scientists at Los Almost National Laboratory (LANL) have adapted Magnetic Resonance Imaging technology used in medical imaging devices to create MagViz, a machine that can distinguish potential-threat liquids from harmless ones. MagViz, which was created with $5 million in ongoing funding from the Department of Homeland Security’s Science & Technology Directorate, was tested for two weeks last month in an unused wing at Albuquerque International Sunport, N.M. Liquids used in the test were ones that had to be divested by passengers at the security checkpoint that were over the three ounce limit, typically water bottles, which made up 40 percent of the items, as well as other drinks and personal care products such as hair gels and lotions, Michelle Espy, the MagViz project leader at LANL, tells TR2. MagViz is larger that an X-Ray machine and one of the goals of the project is to shrink it so that it can fit in an airport checkpoint environment, Espy says. The lab believes that if continued development is successful, machines could be available by 2012. Some of the lessons learned included just how to transport the machine and set it up, which took less than a day, Espy says. As with any technology development effort, a key goal is to find out the limits of the system, she adds. LANL scientists have been working on adapting the MRI technology for two years only assembled MagViz a month ago, Espy says. Two more years of research is planned, including engineering work as well as looking at solids and semi-solids, she says. Based on its computer database, the machine is able to reliably identify 50 liquids from their chemical fingerprints. As for things like false alarm rates for MagViz, the researchers are just at the beginning of trying to understand this. For now it depends on scan time, which in the recent demonstration took a minute for a small bin of liquids. MagViz uses a weaker magnet than a typical MRI machine, which means it is less expensive, thus opening up a range of industrial and even additional medical applications, Espy says. So far LANL doesn’t have any industry partners for MagViz.