The Navy requires an advanced analyzer to improve the performance and reduce the maintenance cost of current submarine atmosphere monitoring systems. To meet this need, we propose to develop an advanced Raman spectrographic system that will detect, identify and accurately measure much lower trace-level chemicals than current systems and provide measurements and readouts in real time. The system will also be programmable, so it can be easily adjusted through software changes to enable identification of a wide variety of future target chemicals of interest. The small, compact technology being used is highly durable, requiring only minimal, inexpensive maintenance, and the system will be easily integrated into existing onboard spaces. The Phase I project will develop a detailed system design and provide a comprehensive proof of concept through performance tests and demonstrations of all critical sensor components. The resulting system will bring submarine atmosphere monitoring to the state of the art and provide the technology needed to support many other important military, government and commercial sensor requirements.
Benefit: The sensor technology proposed for development in this project will not only provide a state of the art submarine atmosphere monitoring system, but will also support a wide variety of other military, government and commercial sensor applications. Since enhanced Raman-based sensors can operate in a wide spectral range, the system will be capable of detecting, identifying and measuring very low trace levels of many chemical gasses, vapors and contaminants. In addition, because the system is highly compact, it can be adapted for field portability and battery operation, thereby expanding its usefulness to many new applications. In portable configuration, the system would provide rapid detection and identification of target compounds of interest at any desired location. The proposed dual use sensor technology will provide trace gas detection in military and homeland security screening for contaminants, toxins, explosives, chemical warfare agents and many illegal substances. This capability will improve security at airports, facility/boarder control points and mass transit entrances by detecting lower trace levels of target chemicals in the air than is currently available through other technologies. Based on the performance of past Raman-based systems, the frequency of false positive alarms is expected to be very low due to the systems use of highly accurate chemical spectrum matching for target compound identification. The systems use of optical Raman spectroscopy will also allow it to rapidly measure trace contamination on surfaces to greatly improve screening of passengers, baggage, clothing and personal items such as electronic devices being carried. The system can also be configured as a law enforcement tool in performing some of the functions of detection dogs, surpassing canine capabilities to become a more economical, accessible, sensitive and accurate tool for law enforcement in tracking suspects and detecting drugs and contraband. Another potentially valuable application for the technology is found in medical screening. Many peer-reviewed research studies have shown that trained dogs can consistently detect certain types of early stage cancers and other diseases at high confidence levels using the scents of human breath and body fluids. The technology developed in this project has potential to be configured into an important new, low-cost medical diagnostic breathalyzer device for quickly analyzing patient breath and body scents in real time, during routine physical examination. If early warning chemical indicators of disease are present in the detected sensor spectral data, the system would signal the physician that additional testing is warranted. In this manner, much earlier disease detection would occur during regular physical exams leading to improved medical treatment outcomes. Upon demonstration of the proposed system performance during Phase I, we plan to aggressively pursue Navy sensor applications and opportunities for further commercialization. This would include partnering with various firms in the military, security, law enforcement and medical sensor equipment industries where we will seek financial support, technology licensing agreements and assistance in manufacturing and marketing. Based on market projections, Neodynetics expects to attract substantial interest and support for commercialization during the first year of development and each year thereafter as we aggressively pursue the technologys potential applications throughout the project.
Keywords: chemical detection, chemical detection, Gas Monitor, medical screening, Sensor, Submarine Atmosphere, Raman spectroscopy, Security Screening
