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Multi-stage system for verification of container contents

  • US 7,851,766 B2
  • Filed: 11/28/2006
  • Issued: 12/14/2010
  • Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2001
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A multi-stage radiation detection and identification system, comprising:

  • a radiation sensor system deployed on a gantry crane and comprising;

    one or more gamma sensors; and

    /orone or more solid-state neutron sensors, wherein the one or more gamma sensors and/or the one or more solid-state neutron sensors being collectively mounted on a frame structure mechanically coupled to the gantry crane, referred to as a primary radiation sensor position, and that is locatable in proximity to a shipping container under examination;

    a secondary radiation sensor position, that is located separate from the radiation sensor system deployed on the gantry crane, and comprising one or more gamma sensors and/or one or more neutron sensors for further analyzing gamma and/or neutron radiation that has been detected in the shipping container by the primary radiation sensor position;

    a distributed network communicatively coupling the gantry crane radiation sensor system and the one or more sensors of the secondary radiation sensor position as individually addressable nodes on a radiation sensor network;

    a first digital data collection system, communicatively coupled with radiation sensor system deployed on the gantry crane that collects radiation data from the radiation sensor system on the gantry crane;

    a second digital data collection system, communicatively coupled with the one or more sensors at the secondary radiation position that collects radiation data from the one or more gamma sensors and/or one or more neutron sensors at the secondary radiation position;

    a multi-channel analyzer system, communicatively coupled with the first and second digital data collection systems, that prepares a set of histograms of the collected radiation data from the first and second digital data collection systems, respectively, the set of histograms comprising the radiation data collected from the secondary radiation position combined with the radiation data collected from the first radiation position, and wherein the set of histograms represent a set of spectral images of radiation present in the shipping container under examination;

    a spectral analysis system, communicatively coupled with the multi-channel analyzer system and the first and second digital data collection systems, that receives and analyzes the collected radiation data from the first and second digital data collection systems, respectively, and the histograms to detect radiation and to identify one or more isotopes associated with the collected detected radiation data;

    a first data storage unit that stores data representing isotope spectra for use by the spectral analysis system, where one or more spectral images stored in the first data storage unit represents at least one known isotope, wherein the spectral analysis system compares the set of spectral images to the one or more spectral images stored in the first data storage unit to identify the one or more isotopes associated with the collected detected radiation, the first data storage means being communicatively coupled with the spectral analysis system;

    an information processing system, communicatively coupled with the spectral analysis system, that analyzes the identified one or more isotopes and to determine a set of potential materials or goods that the identified one or more isotopes represent; and

    a second data storage unit that stores data representing a manifest relating to the shipping container under examination, the second data storage unit being communicatively coupled with the information processing system, the information processing system further compares the determined set of potential materials or goods with the manifest relating to the shipping container under examination to determine any unauthorized materials or goods contained within the shipping container under examination.

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