Bradenton, Fla. – October 17, 2006 – GE Security Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the General Electric Co., today announced the availability of its integrated CTX 9000 DSi/XRD 3500 advanced technology explosives detection "system of systems" for operational deployment.
The GE Security CTX/XRD integration is the first commercially available sensor-fusion offering for baggage screening. Sensor fusion integrates the sensors of two explosives detection systems (EDS) to optimize the collective performance at levels beyond the capability of either system operating alone.
The combined CTX 9000 DSi/XRD 3500 system is expected to better serve high-volume airports’ growing baggage scanning needs by helping the airports and their security screening personnel improve the effectiveness and efficiency of checked bag screening. The marriage of computed tomography (CT) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) technologies into one sensor-fused checked-bag screening ‘system of systems’ is expected to help reduce false alarm rates, and allow customers to enhance security and potentially drive down operational costs.
"There is a clear and growing trend around the world toward the use of GE Security advanced EDS technology integrated into baggage screening systems to help customers improve the effectiveness and efficiency of bag screening while maintaining passenger satisfaction," said Dennis Cooke, president of GE Security's Homeland Protection business. "We are pleased to announce the availability of the innovative CTX 9000/XRD 3500 sensor fusion system to further help our customers address their baggage screening challenges."
The GE CTX 9000 DSi system represents the latest in CTXâ„¢ technology. Designed to integrate with airport baggage handling systems (BHS), the CTX 9000 DSi system is TSA-certified and is often well suited to fast-paced airport environments. It is the highest operational throughput explosives detection system designed for BHS integration and its meter-wide conveyor belt and large tunnel opening can accommodate both large and standard-size bags. Designed for ease of operation and service, with multiplexing capabilities and a low false alarm rate, the CTX 9000 DSi system can be an excellent investment for high-volume airports. Its advanced technology allows customers to efficiently and accurately identify the most challenging substances.
The XRD 3500 explosives detection system is based on Coherent X-ray Scatter (CXRS), which uses molecular composition to identify threat materials. In addition to standalone capability, when used in GE Security’s sensor-fused approach, the XRD 3500 system uses alarm location data, acquired from bag images collected by the CTX 9000 DSi positioned earlier in the BHS, to focus on specific areas of bags that have been identified as suspicious in the previous screening step. This ability to focus on a limited threat area can greatly increase the throughput of the XRD system.
The XRD 3500 system is designed to resolve alarms from other explosives detection systems without depending on operators and other time-consuming manual procedures. This can result in a significant increase in overall detection rates and reduced processing times for passenger baggage, offering the potential for reduced operating costs.
