Check point screening of passengers is key to mitigating threats to aviation. This essential mission must be performed while expediting traffic flow and without discrimination to elderly or disabled travelers.The screening mission is challenged by the inaccessibility of Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) and metal detector walk-through portals to travelers with mobility disabilities and certain medical conditions.The result of these challenges is that passengers with limited or no ability to walk are relegated to a more time-consuming and less efficient screening process.To fill this gap, Spectral Labs proposes to develop and test a compact, hand-held device based on millimeter wave (mmW) imaging which can be used to detect contraband and threats such as weapons and explosives hidden on the passenger who may not be able to safely be separated from mobility devices, such as wheelchairs and walkers, or external medical devices, such as oxygen generators and insulin pumps.By allowing for rapid, non-contact screening of the passenger, this benefits the privacy traveler, the efficacy of the Transportation Security Officer, and the overall safety of air travel.In addition to the specific role for limited mobility travelers at TSA checkpoints, the device will benefit multiple missions at the government customers at the Federal, State, and Local levels, from supplementing fixed AIT installations, resolving alarms without the need for a pat-down, to primary screening for pop-up itinerant screening such as special events, and locations which cannot accommodate the cost or infrastructure for an AIT installation.
