FRANKLIN, MASS., October 27, 2004 — Reinforcing its role as an industry leader in explosives trace detection, Thermo Electron Corporation today announced the unveiling of the new EGIS™ Defender, a next generation explosives trace detection system that provides the highest performance available.
The EGIS™ Defender, along with Thermo’s full line of security products will be demonstrated at the AVSEC World Show, booths six and seven, taking place at the Westin Bayshore Resort & Marina, Vancouver, British Columbia, November 3 – 5.
The EGIS™ Defender combines Thermo’s patented high-speed gas chromatography (HSGC) with Micro Differential Ion Mobility Spectrometry (microDMx™) to set a new benchmark in explosives trace detection, providing the industry-leading sensitivity with low false positives in a compact, portable unit.
The combination of Thermo’s HSGC and Sionex’s microDMx™ technologies enable the EGIS™ Defender to simultaneously detect plastic, commercial and military explosives, TATP, HMTD, and enhanced AN-FO as well as International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) marker compounds and narcotics with the highest degree of sensitivity.
Due to this highly flexible dual technology platform, one of the EGIS™ Defender’s most significant features is its ability to respond to new and emerging threats through future software upgrades, thus ensuring effective maximum protection from explosives attacks well into the future. The EGIS™ Defender will be used at airports, security checkpoints, nuclear facilities, border crossings and any sensitive security points around the world that require protection from explosives.
“This product reaffirms the role of Thermo Electron as the industry leader in explosives detection,” said Tom Loewald, general manager of Radiation Measurement and Security Products for Thermo Electron. “Our EGIS™ Defender system sets a new standard in explosives trace detection and gives a clear advantage to security personnel charged with protecting highly sensitive security situations.”
Addressing False Positives The EGIS™ Defender first applies HSGC to separate compounds of interest with extreme accuracy. Once the explosive samples have been separated the EGIS™ Defender then employs the unique ion filtering capabilities of microDMx™ to provide additional positiveentification of trace amounts of explosive or narcotic compounds down to a trillionth of a gram.
Unlike existing analytical methods, Sionex’s microDMx™ employs dedicated positive and negative ion detectors running simultaneously, significantly improving the ability to detect peroxide-based explosives such as TATP, as well as providing the ability to detect narcotics within the same analysis. Competing systems either alternate between detecting positive/negative ions or may even be limited to tracking only positive or negative ions, greatly reducing sensitivity and overall effectiveness in detecting the full range of threats.
Other explosives trace detection systems, such as Ion Mobility Spectrometers (IMS) just rely on one technology forentification and therefore must sacrifice either accuracy or sensitivity to achieve marginal results. IMS field units typically produce two to three percent false positive results while the EGIS™ Defender’s advanced technology produces less than 0.2 percent false positives.
Maintenance and Reliability Not only is the EGIS™ Defender a leading sensitive explosives trace detection device available today, it also substantially reduces operating costs and has a much simpler maintenance program than competitive products and previous EGIS models.
The EGIS™ Defender features state of the art communication and wired / wireless networking capabilities that allow technicians to monitor the system from remote locations and, if problems are found, communicate directly with the system for simple repairs. For more complex issues, the lightweight EGIS™ Defender, reduced in weight by more than 85 percent from the EGIS III model, can be shipped to the maintenance depot for diagnosis and repair with a very short turnaround.
For more information about EGIS™ Defender or any of Thermo’s homeland security products, please visit www.thermo.com/security.
About Thermo Electron Corporation Thermo Electron Corporation is the world leader in analytical instruments. Our instrument solutions enable our customers to make the world a healthier, cleaner and safer place. Thermo's Life and Laboratory Sciences segment provides analytical instruments, scientific equipment, services, and software solutions for life science, drug discovery, clinical, environmental, and industrial laboratories. Thermo's Measurement and Control segment is dedicated to providing analytical instruments used in a variety of manufacturing processes and in-the-field applications including those associated with safety and homeland security. Based near Boston, Massachusetts, Thermo has revenues of more than $2 billion, and employs approximately 10,000 people in 30 countries. For more information, visit www.thermo.com.
microDMx™ is a trademark of Sionex Corporation
# # # # # # ________________________ Sarah J. Block Account Representative Greenough Communications Ph: 617.275.6516 F: 617.275.6501 www.greenoughcom.com