Skin deep: Cobalt's Insight 100 uses Raman spectroscopy to analyse deep subsurface layers
A British firm that has been nominated for the MacRobert Award for its development of a scanning system employed at airports across Europe is now adapting the technology to the non-invasive diagnosis of serious diseases such as cancer.
Oxford-based Cobalt Light Systems has been recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering for the development of its Insight 100 device, which analyses solids or liquids sealed within any non-metallic container without the need to open it.
When combined with advanced algorithms to distinguish between the container and its contents, the technology is able to identify the chemical composition in a matter of seconds, and with greater reliability than any other existing system. This information is cross-checked against a library of recognised threats.
Cobalt’s Insight 100 machine has been installed at 65 airports across Europe, including Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. Its widespread adoption is expected to lead to the phased removal of the existing hand-luggage liquid ban, in line with pending EU regulations.
“The technology uses spatially offset Raman spectroscopy to perform analysis of much deeper subsurface layers than has previously been possible,” said Paul Loeffen, chief executive at Cobalt Light Systems. “It eliminates the foreground signal to enable accurate analysis many millimetres inside the bulk material. It fully eliminates the signal from the glass or plastic, focusing on what’s inside.”
Cobalt, established in 2008 as a spin-out from the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, has grown to become a £12 million business, employing 40 people.
While the majority of its sales have been made within the aviation sector, Loeffen thinks the technology could also find application in other areas.
“It has the potential to offer a non-invasive solution in medical environments,” he said.
“For example, it might one day be used as a substitute for biopsy in breast cancer treatment, or to penetrate through skin to look for bone disease such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.
“The cancer research is being conducted by Nick Stone, professor of biomedical imaging and biosensing at the University of Exeter. It is still at the research stage. And in terms of the bone analysis, we are running pre-clinical trials at University College London. We are two years into a four-year trial.”
Loeffen said the technique is also proving successful in the pharmaceutical sector. “It is already being used by firms to analyse inbound raw materials for verification purposes. That is delivering huge time and cost savings, as previously such materials would have had to have been opened by hand in clean room environments.
“And at the other end of the pharmaceutical cycle, it is being used to ensure that capsules and tablets have the right amount of drug content. Previously this was carried out using liquid chromatography, which was slow and expensive.”
Cobalt is also exploring the potential of its innovation in other areas such as counterfeit goods detection and for food analysis, and for hazardous materials assessment by first responders.
MacRobert prize
Cobalt Light Systems is up against two other UK companies in the battle to clinch the prestigious MacRobert Award.
OptaSense, a Qinetiq owned company based in Hampshire, has developed technology that can turn any existing fibre-optic cable into a highly sensitive real-time microphone. With millions of miles of fibre-optic cable underground and undersea around the world, the ability to turn this into a ‘listening’ device has enormous potential in terms of perimeter security monitoring, traffic management and rail protection.
Rolls-Royce has also been nominated for the development of the world’s first short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL ) system capable of powering a supersonic aircraft. The LiftSystem is designed to be used in the F-35B variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, which has been developed by the US Department of Defense and its allies, representing the largest defence programme of all time.
The Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award is the UK’s longest running national engineering prize for outstanding innovation with proven commercial promise and tangible societal benefit.