STFC spin-out wins UK’s major engineering prize for airport scanner technology
3 Jul 2014 04:32 PM
The
scanner may soon enable airports to relax the existing hand-luggage liquid ban,
and use of the same technique is now being used for other applications
including real-time diagnostic tools for cancer and bone
disease.
Cobalt Light Systems, which was up against engineering
giant Rolls Royce and the fast growing QuinetiQ spin-out OptaSense, pioneered a
technique to identify, within seconds, the chemical composition of liquids
sealed within non-metallic containers without opening
them.
The Cobalt team has used the technology to develop an
airport security scanner that can identify potential liquid explosives.
Cobalt’s Insight100, now installed in 65 airports across Europe, could
help lift the blanket ban for passengers carrying liquids in hand
luggage.
Professor Pavel Matousek, Cobalt’s Chief
Scientific Officer and an STFC Senior Fellow, first devised the concept while
researching ultrafast Raman spectroscopy at the STFC’s Central Laser
Facility.
“It was very satisfying to uncover a new laser
method with such wide range of applications and of such a high societal
impact,” he said. “Suddenly we were able to use this method to
probe the chemical content of opaque bottles without opening them, and scan
biological tissues non-invasively at depths previously
unimaginable.”
Professor Matousek added, “This scientific
breakthrough enabled Cobalt to develop and engineer the new scanner that is now
deployed in 8 out of the 10 largest airports in Europe, making air travel safer
for all of us– and other exciting applications are still looming on the
horizon.”
Synonymous with spotting the ‘next big
thing’ in the technology sector, the MacRobert Award is the UK’s
longest running national prize for engineering. It identifies outstanding
innovation with proven commercial promise and tangible societal
benefit.
The
judging panel, representing the cream of modern British engineers and
entrepreneurs from a range of disciplines, selected Cobalt for its potential to
touch the lives of millions of people.
John Robinson FREng, Chair of the MacRobert Award
judging panel, said: "The promise of this single fundamental innovation to
improve the lives of millions of people in such a variety of ways meant Cobalt
stood out in what has been a particularly competitive year for the MacRobert
Award.
"Beyond the outstanding technical innovation
itself, Cobalt also captured the judges' attention with its hearty
ambition. A fast-growing yet humble SME, it is a shining example of the
technology transfer process from UK research labs into a successful commercial
enterprise.”
Cobalt Light Systems CEO, Paul Loeffen, said, “My
colleagues and I are honoured that our work has been recognised in this way. It
is tremendously satisfying to take a research discovery from the laboratory and
develop it into a viable commercial product which is already enhancing
passenger safety at airports. Receiving this award is truly a great success for
UK science and engineering.”
The
unique scanning technology developed by Cobalt is now being applied to research
in other disciplines through research at the STFC Central Laser Facility within
the Research Complex at Harwell. For example, in collaboration with University
College London it is being used to develop a way to diagnose bone disease much
earlier, promising to enable patients to seek treatment at an earlier stage. It
is also being tested in research, in partnership with the University of
Exeter, to analyse the chemical composition of breast tissue following
mammograms which have identified ‘shadows’ that need further
investigation. The non-invasive, painless technique has a potential to
replace the needle biopsy and deliver an accurate, on-the-spot
diagnosis.
ENDS
Images available (credit Cobalt Light
Systems):
- The Cobalt Insight100 Instrument
- The Cobalt Light Systems team
photograph
More information:
Marion O’Sullivan
STFC Press Officer
Tel: 01235 445627
Mob: 07824 888990
Notes for editors:
Cobalt Light Systems was
established in 2008 to develop its novel technologies into a range of Raman
applications for laboratory and industrial analysis. The underlying
technology is exclusive to the company and was invented at the Science
and Technology Facilities Council’s Rutherford Appleton
Laboratory in the UK.
The MacRobert Award. First presented in
1969, the MacRobert Award is widely regarded as the most coveted in the
industry. Founded by the MacRobert Trusts, the Award is now presented by the
Royal Academy of Engineering after a prize fund was established with donations
from the MacRobert Trusts, the Academy and British industry. For more
information, visit: www.raeng.org.uk/prizes/macrobert.
The judging panel for the MacRobert Award 2014
is as follows:
John Robinson FREng (Chair)
Chairman, Abbeyfield Society; previously Chairman and Chief Executive of Smith
& Nephew plc; Chairman, George Wimpey plc, Railtrack plc, Low and Bonar
plc, UK Coal plc and Consort Medical plc; Operating Partner, Duke Street
Capital
Keith Davis
Chairman, The MacRobert Trust; formerly Director, Strategy & Planning, the
Royal Academy of Engineering
Professor Nicholas Cooper FREng
Director, JN Cooper & Partners Ltd
Professor Sir Richard Friend FREng
FRS
Cavendish Professor of Physics, University of Cambridge; Co-founder, Cambridge
Display Technology Ltd and Plastic Logic Ltd
Dr Andrew Herbert OBE FREng
Former Chairman of Microsoft Research
Dr Gordon Masterton OBE FREng FRSE
Vice President, Jacobs Engineering; Deputy Chairman Construction Industry
Council; formerly President Institution of Civil Engineers
Peter Saraga CBE FREng
Chairman of the Advisory Board, Ambient Assisted Living Joint Programme;
formerly President of the Institute of Physics
Ian Shott CBE FREng
Managing Partner, Shott Trinova LLP
Dr Martyn Thomas CBE FREng
Director, Martyn Thomas Associates Ltd
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