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COBRA in Cleveland: advanced computed tomography technology

I missed this press release about a month ago, but better late then never. Appraently there's a new explosives and weapons detection system in Cleveland's Hopkins International Airport called the COBRA. Will we soon be seeing the COBRA in more US airports?

Anyway, the press release:

PEABODY, Mass. -- Analogic Corporation (NASDAQ: ALOG) today announced that it has installed the COBRA([R]), the first Checkpoint Auto-EDS (Automatic Explosives and Weapons Detection System) at a carry-on checkpoint in Cleveland's Hopkins International Airport, the first such system to be piloted at a U.S. airport checkpoint. The COBRA employs advanced computed tomography technology to screen baggage, providing 3-D images of the contents of a bag to resolve alarms.

Jim Green, President and CEO of Analogic, noted, "We are very pleased to install a volumetric, CT-based scanner at a checkpoint for the first time. We believe Analogic's advanced computed tomography technology will provide TSA's security officers with the most sophisticated tool available today to detect explosives and weapons automatically."

Mike Young, TSA Cleveland's Federal Security Director, added, "Auto-EDS will provide our highly trained Transportation Security Officers with an additional technical capability to protect the traveling public and our commercial aviation infrastructure from the most serious threats: improvised explosive devices. The additional detection capabilities of Auto-EDS also may allow TSA to modify carry-on baggage screening procedures to increase efficiency and reduce passenger inconvenience."

The COBRA has an 80-cm tunnel opening that can generate high-resolution 3-D images of the contents of a bag or bin in real time. An automatic Bin Return System (BRS) saves additional time and labor, returning empty bins beneath the system on a motorized conveyor. The COBRA is designed to support aviation, surface transportation, and other checkpoint portals more efficiently than conventional equipment, reducing operating and life-cycle costs while increasing throughput and threat detection capabilities.

Analogic Corporation is a leading designer and manufacturer of advanced health and security systems and subsystems. The Company is recognized worldwide for advancing the state of the art in Automated Explosives Detection, Computed Tomography (CT), Digital Radiography (DR), Ultrasound, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Patient Monitoring, and Advanced Signal Processing. For more information, please visit www.analogic.com.

Posted by James Trotta at September 12, 2008 8:13 AM