Award Data

Gamma radiation detection has traditionally required single crystal materials that are difficult to produce consistently on an industrial scale. Agiltron has developed a new class of scintillator materials based on composites containing nanoparticles. These so-called nanocomposites exhibit radiation detection characteristics superior to currently available single crystal scintillators. In Phase I ...

Better methodologies for the rapid detection of pathogenic bacteria and viruses are needed. A problem with current antibody-based assays is cross-reactivity with similar, but harmless, species. RMD, Inc., proposes developing nucleic acid-based affinity reagents (aptamers) against the spore coat of the model organism Bacillus thuringiensis. Aptamers displaying fast binding rates (kon) will be selec ...

Certain lanthanide halides have significantly higher light output than NaI:Tl, the comparison standard for scintillators, plus other important properties, including fast decay times and excellent proportionality. Unfortunately, lanthanide halides grown by traditional melt processes have high production costs and limited availability. Crystals are usually limited to about 5x5 cm2, right cylinder, ...

This program will evaluate the effectiveness and application of an appropriately-configured X-ray Backscatter imager to the screening of general aviation aircraft. It builds on work already in progress at AS&E to miniaturize and improve the resolution of single-sided Xray Backscatter systems.

BioSwimmer is a system level solution including a biomimetic autonomous swimming vehicle that provides efficiency, maneuverability and payload integration capability that is unavailable in other platforms. Phase I includes development of advanced sensing to perform in-liquid inspections with accuracy and reliability. Additionally, the Phase I work provides design and prototyping in support of a Ph ...

While there are DHS programs to compare risks, some of which look specifically at CBRN risk, these tools have had limited practical utility for informing realistic risk mitigation strategies or supporting programmatic decisions at the national or regional level. CENTRA Technology, Inc.(CENTRA) proposes a CBRN Strategic Decision Support Tool that will build upon some of the more mature programs wi ...

We propose to develop a functional user interface that realistically depicts the operation of two preventive radiological/nuclear detection (PRND) instruments: a Personal Radiation Detector (PRD), and a Radioisotope Identification Device (RIID) currently in use by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). We will also develop an exemplary micro game based on a plausible situation using these devic ...

With growing concerns about the security of our borders and vulnerable entry points video imagery has emerged as a high potential surveillance data source for generating real time situational information. This potential comes with its challenges due to the large volumes of data need to be processed, lack of smart sensors to automatically detect and understand video content, bandwidth limitations t ...

The availability of a ruggedized, fully integrated STR typing instrument that combines DNA purification, amplification, separation and detection, and data analysis into a single, easy-to-operate system would represent a substantial advance in human identification. The purpose of the Phase I SBIR proposal is to plan the development of a device that enables the rapid determination of kinship of pers ...

We propose to develop innovative statistical signal processing algorithms that discriminate between human and animal footsteps when processing seismic signatures acquired by Unattended Ground Sensors (UGS) and UGS constellations. The innovation is to extract and statistically analyze features (e.g., energy, pattern, and spectral properties) of the seismic signatures. Furthermore, to increase the p ...