SEARCH DOE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER INFORMATION

Ultra-wide Band System for Securing Cargo, developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and licensed to SecureBox Corporation is a wireless, cost-effective, low-power reusable device installed within the sidewall of a cargo container to detect intrusions and report real-time data and tracking to a secure web site, resulting in zero false alarms and 100% probability of detection, including several unscheduled intrusions by dock personnel. Useful in monitoring the more than 200 million cargo containers used each year to transport 90% of the world's cargo on trains, ships and trucks. The Ultra-wide band system is a winner of a 2008 R&D 100 Award.

An Early Warning Crisis Management System for Chemical Attacks, developed at the Argonne National Laboratory and licensed to Smiths Detection provides accurate, early detection of chemical agents and toxic industrial chemicals and response capabilities in confined spaces within densely populated areas, such as in city buildings and urban transportation systems.

Foam-based decontamination, developed at Idaho National Laboratory and licensed to Environmental Alternatives, Inc. provides for non-destructive removal and decontamination of radionuclides from concrete and other surfaces without further contamination of soil or ground water in a manner that is safe for first responder use. Contrasted with decontamination carried out by destroying and hauling away buildings, recovery from the effects of an RDD is enormously enhanced by INL's cleaning technology.

Portable radiation detection, developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and licensed to AMETEK's Advanced Measurement Technology ORTEC Division provides a low-cost, digital system for quick, real-time identification of specific radiation sources used in nuclear fuels, allowing for quick and less intrusive differentiation between dangerous and safe materials with very little margin of error.
Product link: Ametek-Ortec: High-precision Radiation Detectors [120-KB PDF]

The award-winning PhyloChip, developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and licensed to Second Genome (formerly PhyloTech), provides a rapid, accurate, comprehensive way of detecting the presence, quantity, and diversity of bacteria in an air, water, soil, or clinical sample without having to rely on inefficient bacterial culturing. This is useful in environmental situations, such as extensive flooding from hurricanes or the monitoring for presence of an airborne pathogen in the event of a suspected terrorist attack. The PhyloChip is the winner of a 2008 R&D 100 Award and the Wall Street Journal's 2008 Technology Innovation Award.
Product link: PhyloChip: DNA Microarray for Rapid Profiling of Microbial Populations

The award-winning Antibody Profile Detection (AbP ID), developed at the Idaho National Laboratory, provides a low-cost, easy-to-use, accurate and rapid method for matching individuals with forensic evidence by turning the individual antibody profile determined from very small samples of body fluids, such as blood, sweat or tears into a unique pattern. It can provide sample analysis results and comparisons in 2 to 5 hours, rather than conventional DNA testing that takes days or weeks to obtain results. It can also be used in security to confirm identities, as well as in agriculture for tracking animal products from the farm to the store shelf. AbP ID is the winner of an R&D 100 Award and an Idaho Innovation Award.

The award-winning Easy Livermore Inspection Test Explosives (E.L.I.T.E.), developed by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and licensed to Field Forensics, Inc., is a small, easy-to-use, disposable detection tool designed for use by emergency response, law enforcement and military personnel to quickly and accurately locate small amounts of explosives. The E.L.I.T.E. is a self-contained, lightweight card with an indefinite shelf life ideal for use in the field. It has lower detection limits than other similar types of screening products and can detect 30 types of explosives and propellants. The E.L.I.T.E. is a winner of a 2006 R&D 100 Award.

Muon Tomography technology developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory to detect nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction will be made available by Decision Sciences Corporation to the Department of Homeland Security as effective tools to passively scan all cargo and vehicle traffic entering the U.S. This technology can be used with minimal disruption while providing accurate and rapid detection of concealed nuclear and explosive materials while reducing radiation exposure of existing scanning technologies.

The Miniature Integrated Nuclear Detection System (MINDS), developed at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory is a cost-effective, compact system for detecting dangerous nuclear material, such as would be used in a dirty bomb or a nuclear device. It is small and can differentiate between threatening and non-threatening materials, significantly reducing false positives. MINDS has applications in transportation and site security, scanning of moving vehicles, luggage and cargo vessels, and at workplace entrances, post offices, tollbooths, airports, commercial shipping ports, and in police cruisers. It is currently in use at a U.S. military base, at a major rail and bus commuter center in the northeastern U.S. and at a large company that provides security services to airports worldwide.

Millimeter Wave Holographic Body Scanner technology, developed at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and licensed to SafeView, Inc., now L-3 Communications, uses extremely low-powered millimeter waves — a class of non-ionizing radiation not harmful to humans — that penetrates clothing and reflects off the body. The reflected signals are collected and sent to a computer where they form a high resolution 3D image in less than 10 seconds. It is useful for identifying anything on the body — metal, plastic, ceramic, and other non-metallic items that could be used as weapons. It is in use by the Transportation Security Administration in airport screening and worldwide at border crossings, and ferry landings.

Synthetic Aperature Radars (SARs), developed at Sandia National Laboratories, is an all-weather, day or night technique that provides key information unavailable through traditional optical means. It provides imagery and 3-D maps, can reveal minute changes in terrain, and be used for navigational guidance. Key technical advances have yielded a high-performance, ultra-fine resolution, all weather, day-or-night imaging capability that can be integrated onto small, low-cost airborne platforms as well as larger aircraft. MiniSAR filled a void in remote sensing technology by providing unequaled real-time image quality and resolution for tactical warfare systems, while achieving four- to five-fold reductions in size, weight and cost. In particular, it allows for seeing through smoke, dust, clouds and rain. These MiniSAR-derived systems have been engaged in a wide variety of missions, ranging from crevasse detection in Antarctica to incorporation in NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission.

The Handheld Advanced Nucleic Acid Analyzer (HANAA) developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a portable, lightweight, battery-operated instrument that can rapidly detect and identify biowarfare agents. Smiths Detection developed the Bio-Seeq™ Plus instrument for fully portable polymerase chain reaction (PCR) identification of biowarfare agents for use by first responders and military personnel who are not trained biologists.
Story link: Smiths Detection: PCR Identification in the Field [81-KB PDF]

The award winning Adaptable Radiation Area Monitoring (ARAM) radiation detection hardware and software developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory uses a thallium-doped sodium iodide crystal for very low detection limits in near-real-time. Textron Corporation purchased Innovative Survivability Technologies (IST) which initially commercialized the ARAM system for border control security, installing many systems at border crossings. Textron continues to market the ARAM radiation detection system for homeland security applications in fixed portals, vehicle mounted mobile systems, man-portable backpacks, cargo planes, as well as aboard small watercraft. ARAM won a 2005 R&D 100 award.
Story link: Innovative Survivability Technologies: Detecting Radiation on the Move [379-KB PDF]

The Mini-Raman Light Detection and Ranging Sensor, developed at the Brookhaven National Laboratory is licensed to ITT Corporation for use in detection of chemical and biological agents. It is for use as part of the U.S. Government's early warning system against airborne attacks and for detection of chemical agents during battle.
Story link: BNL Scientists Patent Portable Sensor That Detects Harmful Substances, the Bulletin [379-KB PDF]