http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/22/1093113054956.html Explosives detector shines a light on QR Sciences By Margot Saville August 23, 2004
No sniffing ... QRS is developing a scanner that detects plastic explosives. Photo: Phil Carrick
While terrorist threats are bad for international air travel, they are good for businesses which try to make it safer.
One of those is Perth technology company QR Sciences, which is developing systems to enable airport x-ray machines to scan for explosives.
Shares in QRS have risen 70 per cent in the past six weeks as investors react to the news that the seven-year-old business is starting to commercialise its quadrupole resonance technology and earn revenue.
QRS's shares, trading at 14c in mid-July, closed on Friday at 24c.
Last Wednesday, the company announced that its first commercial product, a Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance Machine, was now available.
This machine, which uses technology similar to that used in an MRI scanning machine, can detect plastic explosives hidden in passenger luggage.
The current x-ray machines used at airports are good at identifying weapons, which are about 20 times as dense as other items in a suitcase.
Plastic explosives are much harder to detect because they are only five times as dense. Advertisement Advertisement
The machine will identify the presence of a range of plastic explosives and mixtures in 20 seconds and flash a red warning light if they are present.
OECD figures estimate that the security industry is growing 7 per cent to 8 per cent a year.
The QR technology had its origins in a nuclear physics laboratory at Russia's Kaliningrad University.
Several of the scientists from the laboratory were brought to Australia, where they started working with scientists from the University of Western Australia on research into ground-penetrating radar, which is used to find mineral bodies in the ground.
Chief executive Kevin Russeth said QRS was now in a growth phase and would be looking to raise more capital from its shareholders in the next few months. The major shareholders are QR Sciences Holdings and the UK-based BTG. There are also about 260 private investors.
QRS Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held
