Smiths Detection today launches HazMatID 360, the latest version of its portable and rugged HazMatID chemical identification system, providing fast and comprehensive in-field analysis of unknown solids, gels and liquids to emergency responders, military personnel and other users.

The HazMatID 360 offers a combination of new features to enable comprehensive data scrutiny and faster decision-making. These include optimized mixture algorithms, larger substance libraries, chemical hazard classification for not-in-library substances, easy-to-connect Bluetooth wireless communications, and integrated PEAC-WMD software by Aristatek providing critical information management and decision support. Previous generation HazMatID systems can be upgraded to leverage these new capabilities.

Tim Picciotti, Vice President, Smiths Detection, said: “As the roles and responsibilities of emergency responders evolve, so too must the tools they need to safely do their jobs. Smiths Detection has a long history of providing advanced and trusted security solutions based on customer need. Our HazMat ID 360 combines enhanced identification technology and cutting-edge data handling to provide a 360 degree view of a potential threat and help users maximize the tools they already have.”

Building on the most widely deployed ruggedized Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) chemical identifier worldwide, the HazMatID 360 features the largest spectral library of its kind, more than doubling the previous standard. The system is capable of identifying more than 32,000 solids, liquids and gels in less than a minute including unknown powders, explosives, homemade precursors, Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) and Toxic Industrial Chemicals (TICs). It also incorporates industry-leading PEAC decision support software providing an additional layer of information management and guidance.

The system’s optimized mixture analysis allows effective chemical assessment of a broader range of samples including those that may have been contaminated with more than one material, like water or dirt. The HazMatID 360 can also provide on-screen chemical hazard classification of not-in-library substances to alert responders to the type of threat they are dealing with if definitive identification is not possible.

Additionally, the HazMatID 360 doubles its wireless communications range and incorporates easy-to-connect functionality into its remote command capabilities. By increasing the ease of use of its wireless connection feature, test results can be readily sent from a potentially harmful environment to a command center, eliminating the time needed for the system to be decontaminated before retrieving results.

With thousands of original HazMatID systems in use across the world, the HazMatID 360 allows users of the original system to upgrade and enhance the device’s capabilities, maximizing the usefulness and cost effectiveness of the identifier.

Dustin Levy, Product Manager, Smiths Detection said: “Because original systems can be upgraded, users can leverage the technology they’ve already got without having to become trained to operate the device again. We’ve already heard from some of our customers, and they are eager to upgrade their HazMatID systems so they can make faster and more informed decisions that enable rapid incident mitigation.”

Smiths Detection
20.05.2010