Hanscom Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, Meeting

Wednesday, 15 February

MIT Lincoln Laboratory Auditorium

Refreshments: 3:30 PM, Talk 4 - 5 PM

Joint Meeting with the IEEE Life Members

 

Detection of Explosives using X-ray Computed Tomography: Current Status and Future Advances

Dr. Carl R. Crawford,

Technical Vice President of Corporate Imaging Systems,

Analogic Corporation

Since explosive detection systems based on single-energy x-ray computed tomography (CT) have been certified by the FAA/TSA for checked baggage screening, efforts have been made to decrease their cost, false alarm rates and to increase their throughput. Furthermore, CT scanners are also being deployed for detecting, narcotics, knives and guns in luggage, cargo, and other containers. In particular, dual-energy imaging is being used to lower the false alarm rates, and to provide additional information to the operator to reduce the time required for on-screen threat resolution. The present status of CT will be reviewed and advances to the field will be presented. These advances include multi-energy imaging, tomo-synthesis, multi-source scanners, photon counting data acquisition, helical reconstruction algorithms and three-dimensional display of volumetric data.

Carl R. Crawford received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana in 1976, 1977, and 1981 respectively. He presented image quality improvements for ultrasonic transmission tomography in his dissertation. While employed with Elscint in Boston, Massachusetts and in Haifa, Israel from 1981 until 1983, he developed computerized tomographic reconstruction algorithms. Subsequently, he worked for twelve years at General Electric Medical Systems, Milwaukee, Wisconsin as a Senior Physicist with the Applied Science Laboratory. At GE, he developed three- dimensional display and helical scanning packages for CT scanners and investigated methods for high-speed magnetic resonance imaging. In 1995 he joined Analogic Corporation, Peabody, Massachusetts as Technical Vice President of Corporate Imaging Systems. At Analogic, he leads the application of signal and image processing techniques to medical and industrial CT scanners. He is also an associate editor of IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging. Dr. Crawford is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and has 69 United States patents and 20 refereed journal articles.

The meeting will be held at the Lincoln Lab Auditorium at 4:00 PM. Refreshments will be served at 3:30 PM.  Registration is in the main lobby.  Foreign national visitors to Lincoln Lab require visit requests.  You may also pre-register by e-mail to Roslyn Wesley, rwesley@ll.mit.edu; please indicate your citizenship. You will not receive a confirmation of your pre-registration, however, your badge will be ready for you when you register.   Please use the Wood Street Gate.  For directions go to http://www.ll.mit.edu For other information, contact Ed Altshuler, Chairman, at (781 )377-4662, or edward.altshuler@hanscom.af.mil