Vehicle and cargo container inspection system for drugs
- Science Applications International Corporation, San Diego, California (United States)
A vehicle and cargo container inspection system has been developed which uses gamma-ray radiography to produce digital images useful for detection of drugs and other contraband. The system is comprised of a 1 Ci Cs{sup 137} gamma-ray source collimated into a fan beam which is aligned with a linear array of NaI gamma-ray detectors located on the opposite side of the container. The NaI detectors are operated in the pulse-counting mode. A digital image of the vehicle or container is obtained by moving the aligned source and detector array relative to the object. Systems have been demonstrated in which the object is stationary (source and detector array move on parallel tracks) and in which the object moves past a stationary source and detector array. Scanning speeds of {approx}30 cm/s with a pixel size (at the object) of {approx}1 cm have been achieved. Faster scanning speeds of {approx}2 m/s have been demonstrated on railcars with more modest spatial resolution (4 cm pixels). Digital radiographic images are generated from the detector count rates. These images, recorded on a PC-based data acquisition and display system, are shown from several applications: 1) inspection of trucks and containers at a border crossing, 2) inspection of railcars at a border crossing, 3) inspection of outbound cargo containers for stolen automobiles, and 4) inspection of trucks and cars for terrorist bombs.
- OSTI ID:
- 21208038
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 475, Issue 1; Conference: 15. international conference on the application of accelerators in research and industry, Denton, TX (United States), 4-7 Nov 1998; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.59278; (c) 1999 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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