Morpho Detection, Inc. [MDI] has opened a new research and development (R&D) facility near Los Angeles that consolidates two other R&D facilities in Southern California in order to give it a greater critical mass of engineering capability in one location and a more diverse skill set to focus on solving technology challenges around aviation checkpoint security, the company says.
The R&D Center for Advanced Explosives Detection Technologies combines MDI’s R&D efforts around quadrupole resonance and mass spectrometry technologies. The quadrupole resonance facility was located in San Diego and had five researchers while the mass spectrometry facility in Tustin, which was obtained through MDI’s acquisition of Syagen last year, had about 18 researchers.
The new facility in Santa Ana has 25 engineers and offers greater capabilities as a laboratory, Cameron Ritchie, vice president of Technology and Chief Technology Officer of MDI, tells HSR.
Once the “smoke cleared” following the acquisition of Syagen, Ritchie says it made sense to combine the mass spectrometry and quadrupole magnetic centers of excellence while also leveraging the company’s explosives trace detection center near Boston to “cross pollinate” their respective activities and talents to focus on larger opportunities, particularly with checkpoints, Ritchie says.
Ritchie describes the Santa Ana and Boston facilities as the two sites that make up the CBRNE group that is “able to focus on a…broader range of non-checked baggage aviation” challenges.
MDI’s explosives trace detection expertise is based on ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). The Syagen acquisition gave MDI a runway to eventually add to mass spectrometry to its ETD expertise, which would give it next-generation capabilities.
With the evolving threat presented by homemade explosives (HME), mass spectrometry offers the potential for higher resolution devices that can be brought to the “next-generation aviation checkpoint,” Ritchie say. The IMS technology will eventually become limited as it is forced to deal with more HME threats, he says.
The new R&D Center in California houses four key projects for MDI. One is its work on advancing mass spectrometry for ETD applications, initially for air cargo security because it is being ruggedized for warehouse use.
Another is development work on a project for a mass spectrometry-based shoe scanner and a third is a shoe scanner based on quadrupole resonance technology, Ritchie says. Both shoe scanner projects have received funding from the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate and are expected to be delivered to the Transportation Security Laboratory before year-end for testing, he says.
DHS S&T only awarded two contracts in its latest round of shoe scanner development contracts, both to MDI for separate technology approaches. The contracts were awarded a year ago.
MDI is also developing a handheld QR Wand, which is packaged similar to a small tennis racket, which would be used to resolve anomalies at checkpoints by providing threat material specific resolution without requiring a pat down.
MDI is part of the Safran Group.