Printer Friendly
The Free Library
14,528,975 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

Quantum Magnetics and Owasso -- OK -- School District Sign Cooperative Agreement to Improve School Security.


Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 6, 2001

Quantum Magnetics, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary

A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock.

Notes:
In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners.
 of InVision Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: INVN), and Owasso (Oklahoma) Public Schools signed an agreement, joining in a cooperative effort to improve school security and remove the threat of weapons on school grounds. The agreement calls for the two parties to cooperate in acquiring and analyzing concealed weapons detection data and developing security system deployment strategies.

San Diego-based Quantum Magnetics develops patented and proprietary technology for the inspection and detection of concealed weapons, explosives, contraband and other materials. The company's products are based on passive magnetic sensing technology in addition to quadrupole A quadrupole is one of a sequence of configurations of electric charge or gravitational mass that can exist in ideal form, but it is usually just part of a multipole expansion of a more complex structure reflecting various orders of complexity.  resonance technology, a form of magnetic resonance. In 2000, Quantum engineered its passive weapons detection sensors into a commercial product. Unlike metal detectors, this technology combines high detection probability with an image showing the precise location of the weapon. In addition, it can be configured to scan -- inconspicuously -- large numbers of people at entrances of public buildings such as schools and courthouses.

Hearing about the technology's promise earlier this year, Mr. Dale Johnson, superintendent of the Owasso School District, contacted Quantum Magnetics to inquire into the status of the research. In response, Quantum Magnetics' President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , Dr. Lowell Burnett, visited Owasso to discuss the company's plans for testing the company's sensors in a school environment. The first of a series of tests were recently completed at the Eighth Grade Center in Owasso, Oklahoma, and Quantum's scientists and engineers are currently analyzing the data at their research facility in San Diego.

Mr. Johnson said, "I am encouraged by the results of the tests so far. School administrators' greatest concern -- that of campus security -- just might be alleviated by using the high-technology advancements inherent in Quantum's weapons detection sensors tested in Owasso. We are especially pleased to be part of this effort to provide a safe environment for all our students and peace of mind for their parents."

Dr. Burnett added, "Using our passive scanning method, the sensors can detect, locate and characterize ferrous materials, and not respond to non-ferrous metals that cause many of today's false alarms. Neither does the passive magnetic technology interfere with medical devices such as pacemakers. Rather, the sensors pinpoint the location, size and number of potential concealed weapons, while allowing coins, keys, jewelry, and belt buckles to pass through, thus limiting the number of alarms, which require additional, time-consuming personal scans."

Recently teaming with an Idaho company, Milestone Technology Systems, Inc., Quantum Magnetics' sensors are currently installed in Milestone's portal configuration, which are sold as stand-alone units. The system can be remotely operated and integrated with a closed circuit television system, a two-way voice communication system, a door interlock system and/or a card-key access system for complete building security. The door interlock system automatically locks the door of a secured entrance if a concealed weapon is detected, thus preventing unauthorized entries. Milestone units are currently in use in an Idaho courthouse, and the company has received numerous inquires from officials representing similar public buildings around the country.

Founded in 1987, Quantum became a wholly owned subsidiary of InVision Technologies in 1997. Quantum develops and commercializes promising technologies such as quadrupole resonance (QR), magnetic resonance (MR), low-cost magnetic resonance imaging magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), noninvasive diagnostic technique that uses nuclear magnetic resonance to produce cross-sectional images of organs and other internal body structures.  (MRI 1. (application) MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
2. MRI - Measurement Requirements and Interface.
), and magnetic tensor gradiometry (MTG MTG Meeting
MTG Mortgage
MTG Magic: The Gathering
MTG Mounting
MTG Mind the Gap (London underground announcement)
MTG Methanol To Gasoline
MTG Manual Tank Gauging
MTG Master Timing Generator
MTG Micro Turbine Generator
). Through government funded research and development programs, the company uses its technologies to solve problems in landmine detection, bomb detection, including facility and aviation security, drug and concealed weapon detection, process control and nondestructive evaluation.

In recent years, Quantum's defense and defense-related business activities have grown substantially. Principally, these activities have funded research and development of Quantum's core detection technologies. Although only some of Quantum's research initiatives have the potential to deliver significant returns from commercial production, the risk of significant commercial acceptance is mitigated by the fact that these R&D efforts are fully funded by the federal government. These efforts include:

DEFENSE AND SECURITY-RELATED PROGRAMS USING QUADRUPOLE RESONANCE (QR)

Hand-held Explosives Detector for Personnel Screening. With support from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), component of the U.S. Department of Transportation that sets standards for the air-worthiness of all civilian aircraft, inspects and licenses them, and regulates civilian and military air traffic through its air traffic control  (FAA), Quantum has developed the first prototype, handheld QR device for detecting explosives concealed under an individual's clothing. Work is progressing on rendering the prototype field-testable, in anticipation of operational trials at an airport. Such a system, which resembles a hand-held metal detector "wand" connected to a small electronics console, can also find use in Force Protection applications.

Screening Personnel for Explosives Using QR. Funded by TSWG TSWG Technical Support Working Group
TSWG Track Safety Working Group (UK)
TSWG Tactical Standards Working Group
TSWG Towed Systems Working Group
TSWG Transportation Safety Working Group
, Quantum is developing the world's first explosives detection portal using QR technology. Once QR is developed as a personnel-screening technology, it will be combined with other detection modalities to produce a portal that can detect any explosive carried by an individual.

Vehicle-Mounted Mine Detection System. Quantum is developing an advanced, vehicle-mounted sensor for the U.S. Army's ground standoff mine detection system (GSTAMIDS GSTAMIDS Ground Standoff Mine Detection System (Army) ) program. The goal of this program is to develop a system for road clearance with a very low false alarm rate. The Quantum sensor is based upon quadrupole resonance (QR) detection of the explosive within the mines, which is highly chemically specific and thus provides a low rate of false alarms.

Backpack-mounted Mine Detection System. Supported by the Office of Naval Research The U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR), headquartered in Arlington, Virginia (Ballston), is the office within the U.S. Department of the Navy that coordinates, executes, and promotes the science and technology programs of the U.S.  (ONR ONR Office of Naval Research
ONR Ontario Northland Railway
), Quantum is developing a man-portable mine detection system based on QR detection. The system is being designed for use by the U.S. Marine Corps.

Fusion of QR and X-ray Data for Enhanced Detection of Explosives in Baggage. In this project, funded by the Technical Support Working Group (TSWG), Quantum is investigating methods to improve the detection of explosives by automated combination of quadrupole resonance data with X-ray images. Preliminary results indicate substantial gains in performance that may eventually lead to low-cost explosives detection systems (EDS (Electronic Data Systems, Plano, TX, www.eds.com) Founded in 1962 by H. Ross Perot (independent candidate for the President of the U.S. in 1992), EDS is the largest outsourcing and data processing services organization in the country. ).

Detection and Tracking of Military Vehicles. Quantum completed the first phase of a U.S. Army contract to demonstrate the potential of magnetic sensing for the detection and tracking of military vehicles. During the first phase of the program, Quantum showed it is possible to use magnetic field gradiometry technology to detect tanks within 50 meters and established detection ranges for less heavy vehicles, such as HMMWVs, armored personnel carriers and trucks.

QR Detection of Bacterial Spores. With funding from the Chemical and Biological Defense program, Quantum is investigating the QR detection of bacteria via the crystallization of certain organic compounds that occurs when the bacteria form inert spores Spores
A state of "suspended animation" that some bacteria can adopt when conditions are not ideal for growth. Spores are analogous to plant seeds and can germinate into growing bacteria when conditions are right.
.

PROGRAMS USING PASSIVE MAGNETIC SENSING (MAGNETIC TENSOR GRADIOMETRY)

Magnetic Tensor Gradiometer (MTG) Technology for Naval Applications. In two programs monitored by the Naval Surface Warfare Center Noun 1. Naval Surface Warfare Center - the agency that provides scientific and engineering and technical support for all aspects of surface warfare
NSWC
, Dahlgren Division, Coastal Systems Station (CSS (1) See Cascading Style Sheets.

(2) (Content Scrambling System) The copy protection system applied to DVDs, which uses a 40-bit key to encrypt the movie.
), Quantum is developing an advanced, man-portable MTG sensor technology for the detection, location and classification of unexploded ordnance (UXO UXO Unexploded Ordnance
UXO unexploded explosive ordnance (US DoD) 
) and underwater naval mines. In one recently completed program, Quantum developed and delivered the key components of a man-portable system for UXO surveys on land. In an ongoing program, Quantum is developing an MTG for incorporation into a low-cost autonomous underwater vehicle | An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) is a robot which travels underwater. Sometimes called Unmanned Underwater Vehicles, these devices are powered by batteries or fuel cells and can operate in water as deep as 6000 meters.  (AUV AUV Action Utility Vehicle
AUV Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
AUV Autonomous Unmanned Vehicle
AUV Asian Utility Vehicle
AUV Accumulation Unit Value
AUV Average Unit Volume
AUV Astronomska Udruga Vidulini (Croatia)
AUV Annualized Unit Volume
) for shallow-water mine and obstacle surveys.

Detection of Underground Facilities. Quantum, with funding from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (Hanscom AFB AFB
abbr.
acid-fast bacillus


AFB Acid-fast bacillus, also 1. Aflatoxin B 2. Aorto-femoral bypass
), completed the initial phase of development of a low-cost MTG sensor. The future plan is to integrate the MTG sensor with an unmanned aerial vehicle A powered, aerial vehicle that does not carry a human operator, uses aerodynamic forces to provide vehicle lift, can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely, can be expendable or recoverable, and can carry a lethal or nonlethal payload.  (UAV UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
UAV Unmanned Air Vehicle
UAV Unmanned Aerospace Vehicle
UAV Unmanned Airborne Vehicle
UAV Uninhabited Air Vehicle
UAV Urban Assault Vehicle
UAV Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle (less common) 
) to perform magnetic surveys over remote terrain, with the objective of detecting clandestine underground facilities.

MAGNETIC METHODS OF NONDESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION

Liver Iron Scanner. A large number of people in the world suffer from liver iron overload diseases, the most common of which is hemochromatosis Hemochromatosis Definition

Hemochromatosis is an inherited blood disorder that causes the body to retain excessive amounts of iron. This iron overload can lead to serious health consequences, most notably cirrhosis of the liver.
. At present, widespread noninvasive screening of patients is not carried out, due to the high cost and complexity of current screening systems. With support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH "Not invented here." See digispeak.

NIH - The United States National Institutes of Health.
), Quantum is developing an inexpensive screening system for liver iron overload diseases.

Non-invasive Strain Gauge for Advanced Composites. Funded by the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization Noun 1. Ballistic Missile Defense Organization - an agency in the Department of Defense that is responsible for making ballistic missile defense a reality
BMDO
 (BMDO Noun 1. BMDO - an agency in the Department of Defense that is responsible for making ballistic missile defense a reality
Ballistic Missile Defense Organization
), Quantum is using the latest developments in quadrupole resonance technology to create a gauge to measure strain at any location within a composite structure non-invasively. Such a system will satisfy a crucial unmet demand in the monitoring and maintenance of composite structures. The strain gauge promises to accelerate the already rapid growth of the composite materials and structures industry.

Nondestructive Evaluation of Solid Rocket Propellant. As a subcontractor on a Navy program, Quantum is working together with Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space Corporation and Alliant Techsystems to develop a method, based on magnetic resonance (MR), to detect degradation of propellant properties non-invasively. The success of this program promises to greatly reduce the costs associated with maintaining U.S. strategic and tactical missile inventories.

InVision Technologies develops, manufactures, markets and supports explosive detection systems based on advanced computed tomography (CT) technology for civil aviation security. Today, over 240 FAA-certified CTX CTX Context (Management; Tandem)
CTX Centex Corporation (stock symbol)
CTX Centrex
CTX Cyclophosphamide
CTX Corporate Trade Exchange
CTX Cytoxan
CTX Cholera Toxin
CTX Clinical Trial Exemption
 systems have been shipped worldwide to provide the traveling public with the best security against terrorism available. The company also develops, manufactures, markets and supports CT-based systems for other applications, including wood scanning and drug detection. InVision's wholly owned subsidiary, Quantum Magnetics, develops and commercializes patented and proprietary technologies. These include, but are not limited to, quadrupole resonance (QR) patents licenses from the Naval Research Laboratory Noun 1. Naval Research Laboratory - the United States Navy's defense laboratory that conducts basic and applied research for the Navy in a variety of scientific and technical disciplines
NRL
 that are based on a state-of-the-art, low-cost version of magnetic resonance adapted for explosive detection. InVision's wholly owned subsidiary, Inovec, develops, manufactures, markets and supports scanning optimization and control systems for the forest products industry. Today, over 600 systems have been installed in mills worldwide to produce more lumber from each log and to control product quality. Additional information about InVision can be obtained on the company's web site at http://www.invision-tech.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements including statements regarding the plans or objectives relating to the company's products or services. Investors are cautioned to consider the important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements in this news release. These factors include risks inherent to doing business with public agencies, such as limited funding; risks inherent with the timely development of products and the acceptance and pricing of new products; risks inherent in manufacturing and delivering products on time; and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's SEC reports, including the most recent reports on Forms 10-Q & 10-K.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Business Wire
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2001, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Publication:Business Wire
Geographic Code:1USA
Date:Jun 6, 2001
Words:1706
Previous Article:NextSet and Sabre Extend Technology Alliance, to Bring Dynamic, Real-Time Business Exchange Automation to the Travel Industry and Corporate Partners...
Next Article:Kaneb Services Sets Date for Distribution of Pipeline, Terminaling and Product Marketing Business to Shareholders.
Topics:



Related Articles
Allowing students to grade one another's work violates federal privacy law.
Transform Classrooms With Training in Cooperative Learning.
Violence Reduction? Start With School Culture.
Parity on the Playing Field.
SCHOOL TOXIC TESTS LAGGING; EMERGENCY ACTION ORDERED LAST JUNE.(News)
DISTRICT DEBATES TAKEOVER : CHRISTIAN SCHOOL LEASE ISSUE COMES TO A HEAD.(NEWS)
The new three-fifths compromise: why won't the Supreme Court treat children as people, too? (speaking out).
InVision Technologies receives multi-million dollar awards for development of next generation explosives detection systems.
Quantron, Inc.(Casting Technology Showcase 2005)(Brief Article)
HOSPITAL ASKED TO TREAT ALL DISTRICT WANTS REQUIREMENT IMPOSED BY CITY.(News)

Terms of use | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles