Security detection company Integrated Defense and Security Solutions (IDSS) has introduced a smaller version of its Detect 1000 checkpoint computed tomography (CT) scanner aimed at airports and other facilities with size and layout limitations.
The reduced form factor (RFF)-CT Detect 1000S was developed with the help of the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate’s Screening at Speed program and is being showcased at the agency’s Innovation Checkpoint at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.
The estimated domestic market for the RFF-CT is between 150 and 250 units and there is also a lot of interest in Europe as well, Jeffrey Hamel, president and CEO of IDSS, told Defense Daily on Monday. There is also interest for the compact CT systems for employee and vendor checkpoints at airports, he said.
So far in the U.S., TSA has purchased checkpoint CT systems from Analogic and Smiths Detection. The agency also has checkpoint CT systems from IDSS and Leidos [LDOS] in some airports for evaluations.
Like the Detect 1000, the 1000S meets TSA’s Advanced Passenger Security Screening Level 1 detection standard. However, the Detect 1000 is not on the agency’s qualified product list because it hasn’t met operational requirements, which are referred to as Checkpoint Property Screening System.
Hamel said that TSA will have to sort out the qualification process for the Detect 1000S given the “unique” nature of the product. The new system is about nine-feet long, depending on the configuration, which is nearly three-feet shorter than the Detect 1000.
Unlike the current checkpoint CT systems such as the Detect 1000, the RFF-CT system isn’t designed for large intake and divest areas given the fact that it is being offered for use at security checkpoints with low passenger throughput. The system can scan up to 100 bags per hour versus more than 400 bags with the Detect 1000. Both systems feature an automatic divert capability for bags that alarm.
The Detect 1000S can also be serviced on a single side, allowing the system to be placed against a wall.
The CT technology offers three-dimensional views of a bag’s contents, enabling better detection of potential explosives threats. TSA allows passengers to keep their electronics and liquids inside their carry-on bags when using the checkpoint CT systems, which are slowly being rolled out to U.S. airports.