Torion Technologies in collaboration with Smiths Detection, a transportation security, threat detection and screening technology provider, has revealed an advanced chemical threat detector, the GUARDION.
GUARDION
Developed to enhance emergency and military response capabilities required to identify and confirm the presence of toxic industrial chemicals and chemical warfare agents in vapor, gas, liquid or solid state, the GUARDION combines a toroidal mass spectrometer (MS) and a high speed gas chromatography (GC) in a hand-portable device. Smiths Detection partnered with the Utah-based Torion Technologies to miniaturize the MS/GC technology and develop the software for the detector. The size of the GUARDION is comparable to a carry-on suitcase.
Operational in five minutes, the sample collection system, the CUSTODIAN - a sample collection system with an SPME (solid phase micro extraction) fiber syringe, injects the sample into the MS/GC system. The gas chromatography technology with low thermal mass can rapidly heat and cool the GC column, enabling analysis of 12-15 samples within an hour. In a single battery charge, the GUARDION can analyze a maximum of 30 samples.
For easy operation, the GUARDION features a keypad and a touchscreen. Sample identification and reporting software is pre-loaded into the system. Furthermore, an exhaustive database containing toxic industrial chemical and chemical warfare agent libraries has been provided for quick decision support.
The President of Smiths Detection, Mal Maginnis stated that the combination of the trusted MS/GC technology and cutting-edge portability makes the GUARDION the go-to solution for quick chemical identification in order to limit the impact of exposure and to save lives.