A new American Chemical Society (ACS) video focuses on the world's most sensitive explosive detector to date. Known as FIDO, the handheld detector has been used to detect roadside bombs in Iraq, as well as in homeland security operations and airport security. The video, the latest episode in ACS' Prized Science series, is available at http://www.acs.org/PrizedScience and on DVD.
"Dogs are the gold standard [for explosive detection]… but they have some limitations," explains Tim Swager, Ph.D., winner of the 2013 ACS Award for Creative Invention for his work on the device. The award is sponsored by ACS Corporation Associates. "FIDO has comparable sensitivity to a dog, and sometimes detects things that a dog might miss… Seeing FIDO used by the military in Iraq in the darkest hours when we were finding lots of bombs — that was really important."
Swager, a professor of chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, explains that the detector is able to "sniff" the air and pick up very low concentrations of explosive vapors. He and his team are investigating other potential uses for this sensor technology, including medical diagnostic devices that could detect pathogens or cancer tumors in patients.
Source: American Chemical Society