SAN DIEGO, May 3 -- Decision Sciences Corporation announced today that it has entered into a collaborative agreement with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Under the terms of this Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, Decision Sciences Corporation will commercialize LANL's innovative Muon Tomography technology to detect nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. Devices built under DSC's exclusive license will give the Department of Homeland Security effective tools to passively scan all cargo and vehicle traffic entering the U.S.
"We are very pleased to partner with Los Alamos National Laboratory to develop Muon Tomography as a deployed capability for Homeland Security. What makes this technology so compelling is that it provides the ability to rapidly detect, within congressional mandates, concealed nuclear and explosive materials while eliminating the radiation exposure liabilities that plague existing scanning technologies. It can be deployed with minimal disruption to transportation and commerce flow and provides a high accuracy of detection. Muon Tomography, integrated with our intelligent reasoning software, represents a superior solution aimed at guarding against the threat of a nuclear detonation on our soil," stated Richard Smith, CEO, Decision Sciences Corporation.
Muon tomography uses muons, which are naturally occurring high-energy sub-atomic particles produced by the interaction of cosmic rays with the earth's atmosphere, to identify and locate specific materials based on their atomic density. LANL has developed detectors and algorithms to trace the muons' path, and uses that data to produce detailed, 3-D images of complex objects. This technology is particularly well suited for the detection and identification of nuclear and explosive threats concealed within cargo containers and vehicles. It can quickly deliver vital security information without exposing system operators or the objects examined to dangerous radiation. Moreover, since muons can penetrate lead and other materials used to conceal nuclear or other explosive materials, the reliability of inspections using Muon Tomography is high.
Decision Sciences Corporation and Los Alamos National Laboratory have already demonstrated the effectiveness of Muon Tomography. Full-scale production of DSC's Guardian MT equipment will begin in early 2008.
"We need to take seriously the issue of protecting our borders from nuclear weapons being brought into the country and exploded in a major city. Muon Tomography is a technology that can actually do this much better than currently deployed technologies. Muon Tomography provides a way to solve a problem that's currently not solved," explained Dr. Christopher Morris, principal inventor of Muon Tomography at LANL.
Decision Sciences Corporation, Architects of Reasoning(TM), Building Real World Solutions to Counter Terrorism in America, is a software developer and systems integration company based in San Diego, California. The company is developing software products to support the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, federal, state, and local government and the first responder communities.
Decision Sciences Corporation also serves commercial enterprises by transforming advanced software technologies from government applications to meet corporate security decision management, simulation/training and marketing needs. Decision Sciences Corporation is exceptionally experienced in the design, development and integration of intelligent systems software, facilitating human understanding of complex data. Please visit us at www.decisionsciencescorp.com.
