Detection and inspection device of illicit drugs in sealed envelopes using THz waves

Abstract

We had proposed and developed a THz-wave apparatus for the nondestructive detection of illicit drugs and hazardous substances hidden in sealed envelopes. In actual inspection, we have proposed the following procedure: First, Xray pre-inspection is carried out; second, the measurement of scattered THz waves is applied to pick up suspicious mails; and, third, the identification of the drugs is done by spectral fingerprinting. In this paper, our recent developments of this application and the prototype apparatus for the inspection will be presented.

Terahertz and Cultural Heritage Science: Examination of Art and Archaeology

“…So far, X-ray computed tomography [66] has been the most successful method. Since THz-TD imaging was already evaluated for the inspection of postal envelopes [67], it was also tested with encouraging results for stacked papyrus layers written with carbon black ink [68]. Recently, even more successful results were obtained with a new and more sophisticated THz method called tomosynthesis [69] which was applied to image pencil writing on a stack of 50 paper sheets.…”

Identification of Heroin Covered by Simulation Skin Using Energy Dispersive X-ray Diffraction and Coherence Function

“…Detection of drugs in situ is of major importance in several applications. Sasaki Y and co-workers have proposed and developed a THz-wave apparatus for the non-destructive detection of drugs and hazardous substances hidden in sealed envelopes [1]. Emily Cook characterized drugs in the parcels using energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDXRD) [2].…”