Rapiscan x UoM Innovation Workshop

Rapiscan x UoM Innovation Workshop

Location: Room 3A.029, Nancy Rothwell Building

The Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) is pleased to host an industry-academic innovation workshop with Rapiscan Systems, a global leader in security inspection technologies.

With a long-standing relationship with the University of Manchester, Rapiscan is now looking to broaden collaboration across a range of research areas and is particularly interested in exploring new partnerships within FSE.

This workshop aims to:

• Introduce Rapiscan’s strategic research priorities.
• Map UoM research expertise to areas of interest
• Facilitate connections between Rapiscan and UoM academics
• Explore potential collaborative projects and future seed funding opportunities

Pillar 1. Source

This pillar pertains primarily to x-ray generation via an electron linac, and investigating new technologies to improve the delivery of the optimum x-ray beam, in terms of end-point energy, energy distribution and spatial geometry. R&D here can be linked to the development of any of the accelerator sub systems but also in new areas such as neutron sources.

Key terms: Electron accelerators, linacs, x-ray sources, electron source, compact accelerators, novel x-ray sources, neutron sources, x-ray source simulation tools, accelerator simulation tools.

Pillar 2. Dose

This pillar is related to the SOURCE pillar, where the driver is reducing the radiation dose from the system. This could be in reducing the dose around the device, but also making the best use of the dose of the beam, to reduce overall output. Shielding is an important aspect and so R&D into novel lightweight shielding materials would be of interest for example, or more efficient use of current materials.

Key terms: Radiation dose, shielding, novel materials, radiation shielding calculations or simulations.

Pillar 3. Instrumentation / Detector Development

The instrumentation pillar is concerned with the detection of x-rays of other types of ionising radiation. This includes detector technologies but also associated readout and data acquisition systems and electronics. Current technology is based of scintillators in both crystal and phosphor form depending on the system, transmission or backscatter imaging. Large-scale detectors are also used for detection of radiological radiation. As well as investigating new technologies and imaging modalities, this pillar is primarily focussed at the improvements that can be made to current systems to enhance their capabilities.

Key terms: X-ray detection, neutron detection, scintillators, data acquisition systems, electronics, optoelectronics, radiation detection, radioactive source identification, radiological heat mapping, baggage-, aviation-, security-imaging.

Pillar 4. Image Quality

This pillar relates to improving the quality of the image achieved from the available technology. This could include filtering and noise reduction or other image processing techniques that can improve signal-to-noise, contrast and penetration. Computed tomography techniques would also be of interest in this pillar in reconstructing 3D images from 2D slices.

Key terms: Signal processing, image reconstruction, computed tomography, image filtering, contrast, material penetration.

Pillar 5. Algorithms

These are related also to the image quality pillar but here the focus is more on object identification. Algorithms are used to identify specific objects within images, providing a user assistance tool in highlighting areas of an image for inspection. There is scope to use machine learning, data science and artificial intelligence to improve these, providing more advanced tools for object recognition.

Key terms: Object identification, image analysis, machine learning, data science, AI.

Registration:
Please register using the button above. During registration, you’ll be asked to:

• Confirm your name, title, and dietary requirements
• Indicate which innovation pillar(s) align with your expertise
• Briefly describe your area of research and interest in collaboration

If you have any questions, please contact Chenchen Zheng (FSE Business Engagement): Y2hlbmNoZW4gISB6aGVuZyB8IG1hbmNoZXN0ZXIgISBhYyAhIHVr

We look forward to seeing you there!

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