Virginia Technologies, Inc. (VTI) develops and commercializes electronic instrumentation and other technologies. One of the tools developed by VTI, the Embedded Corrosion Instrument or ECI, is an electronic corrosion sensor that provides early warning of conditions that damage steel reinforcement and lead to further deterioration of concrete structures. The ECI is designed to monitor bridges, buildings, dams, erosion control structures, flood control channels, parking garages, piers, pylons, roadways, and spillways. A non-destructive evaluation (NDE) device, it gathers and delivers all data without requiring inspectors to cut samples, interrupt use of a structure, or even visit the site. The ECI monitors five key factors in corrosion â linear polarization resistance, open circuit potential, resistivity, chloride ion concentration, and temperature. This provides more comprehensive data and reveals correlations among the causes and signs of corrosion, resulting in a more accurate picture of the threat. The firm has also developed the Quantitative Light Standard (QLS), allowing precise, consistent tests of the light source and detection systems in a microscope or microplate reader, and correction of variations among systems. This fills an urgent need in biomedical research and drug discovery. Researchers and pharmaceutical firms have spent millions of dollars and thousands of hours running assays in which they try to gather precise data while maintaining all conditions at reproducible levels. The results have often been tainted by variations between optical systems or within a single system over time. With the Quantitative Light Standard, researchers can calibrate microscopes and microplate readers according to NIST-traceable absolute radiometric units and correct for variations in system optics. With the Quantitative Light Standard, biomedical scientists worldwide can now achieve experimental continuity, comparing data and reproducing experiments on the basis of known, consistent optical conditions
