MIT Invents a Real-Time Mass Spectrometer to Expand Analysis Range

[China Instrument Network Instrument Development] For a long time, law enforcement has been relying on dogs to sniff out dangerous explosives, but the dog's individual differences and training differences determine their performance is not stable, and the difference is large.

Image from the network
Recently, the MIT Lincoln Laboratory invented such a device. Researchers led by the lab Ta-Hsuan Ong have developed a real-time mass spectrometer that measures nine compounds found in explosives at levels comparable to or better than dogs. However, this mass spectrometer did not replace the dog's job.
"A lot of things a dog is good at," Ong said. "For example, they are more mobile and able to search a wide range of areas."
In dogs' olfactory training, training materials containing 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), triacetone trioxide (TATP) and other explosives are commonly used to provide bomb sniffer dogs to teach them Identify the steam plume emitted by the material. The handler then hides the material and evaluates the dog's ability to discover.
The problem is that many training materials are often used during training, which may lead to cross-contamination of one material with another. There is no way to measure the molecular composition of these contaminated vapors. This contamination may not be detected, and the dog's performance evaluation results may be confused.
Ong's team used this station to test a set of cross-contamination training materials. Four bomb sniffer dogs completed training and found various invisible explosives. Then, the researchers analyzed the training samples correctly identified by the dogs and confirmed the presence or absence of explosives in these samples. Of course, some dogs remind them to deal with so-called blank training materials.
However, analysis of the equipment showed that 6 of the 68 blank training materials were contaminated with explosives. The results of the study indicate that the processing program can use the device to determine if the apparent dog error may be due to contamination or other problems.
The device also provides information on how steam escapes from explosive materials that affect how the dog smells plumes in the air. To investigate this issue, the researchers placed a TATP bottle and device at 30 cm and measured TATP levels over time. The sample produced a signal that spiked every few seconds, indicating that the filament of the explosive was floating in the air and passed the device.
If the dog feels very short, the periodic strong odor erupts instead of a constant, faint, as some people think it may mean that a dog trying to detect explosives may be in trouble because It may not encounter vapor flow. Ong said that the handler can consider this finding when evaluating dog performance.
David Atkinson, chief scientist for explosives detection at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, pointed out that the researchers tested the device on only a few canines and a narrow range of compounds.
In addition, the device cannot imitate (dog's) head tilt or other behaviors to help them detect odors. However, it has a considerable level of sensitivity, making these dogs easier to train.
Ong said that similar techniques can also help better dog detection of narcotic drugs or respiratory analysis to diagnose the disease.
(Original title: Anecdote: Mass spectrometer for training dogs)

Metal Decor

Metal Decor,Metal Wall Decor,Metal Home Decor,Metal Signs Decor

Hangzhou Freefish Import & Export Co., Ltd. , https://www.fltdframe.com