Reveal Imaging Technologies Awarded $2.5 Million Contract to Research Techniques to Reduce False Alarms in Airport Baggage Screening


Reveal Imaging Technologies, Inc., a developer of advanced security inspection systems, announced today that it has won a research contract from the Technical Support Working Group (TSWG) with funding from the Department of Homeland Security to identify the optimal design for CT-based explosives detection systems (EDS) and to develop a hardware and software platform as a result of these findings. EDS is the TSA-certified technology currently used to screen checked baggage in the US and abroad. The investigation includes analysis of the trade-offs between CT image quality, false alarm rates and throughput. Reveal will receive up to $2.5 million for the 24 month effort.

The evaluation will include X-ray scanning techniques using image resolution that is not commercially available in any certified EDS. Reveal has partnered with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the University of Michigan and Xintek, Inc. to carry out the studies and develop the optimized EDS platform.

Michael Ellenbogen, president and CEO of Reveal Imaging Technologies, said, "This program will progress in two phases. The first phase is to quantify the optimal CT configuration that will minimize the daily false alarms frequently requiring review by airport screeners. In the second phase we will utilize the findings to create a test platform for new state-of-the-art CT technology. We are excited to be working with Xintek and their advanced nanotechnology x-ray."

Dr. Otto Zhou, Chairman of Xintek, Inc., said, "Our carbon nanotube x-ray source enables multiple high resolution, fixed x-ray sources to be positioned around a CT tunnel and triggered sequentially, thereby eliminating the need for a rotating gantry. We are working with Reveal to design a test bed to investigate our technology. The intent is to develop faster scanning speeds with potentially better throughput and image quality as compared to today's EDS scanners."

About Reveal Imaging Technologies, Inc.

Headquartered in Bedford, MA, privately held Reveal Imaging Technologies, Inc. is one of only three companies to successfully pass the TSA's certification process for automated explosive detection systems (EDS).

Reveal's CT-80 was certified in 2004 by TSA and deployed to U.S. airports to meet TSA standards to automatically inspect 100% of checked bags for explosives.

The Reveal CT-80 platform, with its breakthrough dual-energy Computed Tomography (CT) technology shrinks the size, cost and weight of certified EDS systems. The small physical size of the CT-80 platform allows it to fit into existing footprints and smaller airports. Offering low installation cost and exceptional service, Reveal's TSA certified systems are currently deployed in over 50 US airports and in countries such as Israel, France, Mexico, Canada, Ecuador, and Jamaica.

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