Portables in Action

FirstDefender RM Analyzers deployed in Fiji

The Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority has introduced two Thermo Scientific™ FirstDefender™ RM analyzers at the Nadi and Nausori international airports.

With Fiji's geographic location as a regional transit point, as well as the increase in drug trafficking in the region, it is critical for Fiji authorities to thoroughly monitor and nab suspect traffickers upon entering the country. "Given the current complex concealment methods such as body strapping, body insertions and practically anything you can think of, these scanners are surely enhancing our capability for these detections as well," says Visvanath Das, FRCA acting chief executive.

There are further plans to bring in additional analyzers at parcel post locations nationwide depending on the success of the initial two, according to Das. "These scanners are highly chemically selective and reliable, and have proven very successful with Australian Customs, New Zealand Customs and Papua New Guinea Customs."

Gemini: Safety and Security Industry Taking Notice

Fast but flexible. Powerful but intelligent. The Thermo Scientific™ Gemini™ analyzer expands chemical coverage while minimizing time on target.

The analyzer's innovative design has the Safety and Security Industry taking notice. Check out our recent international technology awards.

Lightweighting Absence of Malice: Inspecting for Tramps

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technology is increasingly being adopted in the auto making industry as a way to understand which elements are being incorporated into the making of a car – on the spot, and in real time.

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*Published in the March 2016 issue of Fabricating & Metalworking magazine

Advancements in PMI Tools Bring Accuracy and Convenience to the Work Site

An increasing number of facilities are adopting a 100% PMI program to ensure that every metal component is made up of exactly the desired chemical composition. To do so, more and more plants are adopting portable x-ray fluorescence (XRF) technology, which brings increased reliability and accuracy to material analysis in a manner that can reduce the risk of accidents while offering significant cost and time savings.

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*Published in the March/April 2016 issue of Inspectioneering Journal

Not Just for Analyzing Metals Anymore

Thermo Scientific Niton XL5 Plus Portable XRF Analyzer is Suitable for Evaluating Oils, Troubleshooting Machinery

If you need to sort through a small pile of metal scrap to separate steel items from aluminum, or if you need to figure out if a stray tube is carbon steel or stainless steel, a magnet is the way to go. However if you need to identify an alloy and quantify its chemical composition (elemental content), you need something more sophisticated. This is where X-ray fluorescence (XRF) can be helpful.

*Published in the December 2015 issue of The Fabricator

Worry-free EP Compliance with TruScan RM

The Thermo Scientific–contributed article "Are you Ready for EP Compliance" was published in the March/April print version of European Pharmaceutical Manufacturer. The article discusses the introduction of new performance criteria for Raman spectrometers by the European Pharmacopoeia, effective April 1, 2016. These new specifications give pharmaceutical manufacturers clear guidance on the requirements for use in GMP environments. Overall, these changes should streamline the deployment of handheld solutions for the release of raw materials.

EPM magazine online print version

FirstDefender Makes a Difference in New Zealand

Contraband Magazine, published by the New Zealand Customs Service, reports that the Thermo Scientific™ First Defender™ Analyzer is being used successfully at the country's International Mail Centre.

Customs Manager for Cargo Operations Bruce Berry explains, "The portable analyser, FirstDefender, is now the top testing tool used to target suspicious substances coming in through mail. Using this fantastic device has made it faster, easier and safer to check packages. We’re identifying drugs in seconds at the press of a button."

"The beauty of this device is that its laser beam penetrates through certain packaging, so they often don’t even need to be opened. This saves a lot of time, so officers are able to spend more time on screening more packages."

In six months, FirstDefender has been used for over 3200 tests, with more than 1200 substances, or around 40%, indicating the presence of drugs -- cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, ecstasy, hashish, cannabis and khat – and the list goes on.

Turning Trash into Cash

The Thermo Scientific™ Niton™ XL2 100 precious metals analyzer made an appearance on the Today Show in June. In a segment titled Turning Trash into Cash, world renown pawnbrokers Les and Seth Gold of American Jewelry and Loan – and stars of the Hard Core Pawn television show – used the analyzer to test viewers’ jewelry, right outside in Rockefeller Plaza. Niton XL2 is fast, simple and accurate - -and now a TV celebrity!

ABC News Investigates

A recent episode of ABC’s 20/20  focused on the prevalence of dangerous counterfeit products being sold illegally across the US – namely prescription medicine. The 20/20 team went inside Eli Lilly’s laboratory to test suspected counterfeit drugs using the Thermo Scientific™ TruScan™ RM handheld analyzer to identify the materials they were made out of. The TruScan RM was able to reveal that a counterfeit Viagra pill was actually filled with the same material used for dry wall plaster. By leveraging widely accepted Raman spectroscopy, the TruScan RM analyzer can identify hundreds of materials with a single scan. The TruScan RM can be used by non-experts and experts alike, and is able to analyze unknown samples through their packaging. The TruScan RM also helps pharmaceutical manufacturing companies efficiently and accurately verify the raw materials used in production.