19 Apr 16. BATTLESPACE Editor Julian Nettlefold met up with Arve Lukander, Sales & Marketing Director, Europe and Africa for Rigaku Analytical Devices Inc., at this year’s Counter Terror Expo at Olympia, London, UK, to look at the Company’s Progeny ResQ detector.
History Of Rigaku
As Rigaku is a new Company for BATTLESPACE readers, it is worth looking at the history of the Company.
Founded in Japan in 1951, Rigaku has been at the forefront of analytical and industrial instrumentation technology. Privately owned by one individual, Rigaku employs over 1,400 people worldwide in operations based in Japan, the U.S., Europe and China.
Today, with hundreds of major innovations to their credit, the Rigaku Group of Companies are world leaders in the fields of general X-ray diffraction (XRD), thin film analysis (XRF, XRD and XRR), X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (TXRF, EDXRF and WDXRF), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), protein and small molecule X-ray crystallography, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray optics, semiconductor metrology (TXRF, XRF, XRD and XRR), X-ray sources, computed tomography, nondestructive testing and thermal analysis.
With Rigaku’s vast understanding of X-ray and its complementary technologies as a foundation, the Company’s true strength is seen in an unparalleled willingness to collaborate with customers. By promoting partnerships, dialog, and innovation within the global scientific and industrial communities, Rigaku demonstrates a relentless commitment to providing our client markets with fully integrated solutions.
The company and its employees are dedicated to developing and supplying universities, industry, and government labs with the ultimate in customer-focused integrated solutions across a wide variety of disciplines, including structural proteomics, nanoengineering research, general purpose X-ray diffraction (XRD) and spectroscopy (XRF), materials analysis and quality assurance.
Whether supplying the tools to create better semiconductor chips, enabling drug discovery, improving production line quality, or exploring the new frontier of nanotechnology, Rigaku products and services lead with innovation.
About Rigaku Americas Holding Company, Inc.
Wholly owned by Rigaku Corporation, RAH was established as a Delaware corporation in 2014 to consolidate Rigaku operations in North America. Major subsidiaries include: Rigaku Americas Corporation (The Woodlands, Texas), Applied Rigaku Technologies (Austin, Texas), Rigaku Innovative Technologies (Auburn Hills, Michigan), Rigaku Reagents (Seattle, Washington) and Rigaku Raman Technologies (Wilmington, Massachusetts).
Rigaku Analytical Devices
Rigaku Analytical Devices is leading with innovation to pioneer a portfolio of handheld and portable spectroscopic analyzers for use in the protection of public health and safety, aid in the advancement of scientific and academic study, enable the recycle and reuse of metal alloys, and ensure quality of key metal alloy components in mission critical industries. Our core goal is to be recognized globally for quality, reliability and expertise in all aspects of our business through our commitment to exceed our customer’s expectations by providing technologically advanced products.
The foundation of our company is our talented team, dedicated to continual product development efforts which improve performance and functionality, resulting in reliable, cost-effective solutions for the end user. Our rugged products utilize integrated software that combines an open architecture platform with user defined settings, delivering unparalleled accuracy and extensive application support, empowering our customers to achieve rapid lab-quality results any time, any place.
Rigaku Analytical Devices is part of the Rigaku Corporation. Since its inception in 1951, Rigaku Corporation has built upon experience to develop innovative solutions and is credited with hundreds of major innovations. Rigaku Corp. identified the portable Raman technology space as one of high innovation and potential growth, and one that was synergistic with their other product lines.
Progeny™ ResQ™
The Editor was given a live demonstration of the Progeny™ ResQ™ at Counter Terror. Introduced by Rigaku Raman Technologies, a leading pioneer of handheld and portable Raman spectrometers, in 2014, Progeny™ ResQ™, is new generation in handheld chemical detection.
Costing around $50,000 each, Progeny ResQ enables the rapid detection, identification and response to chemical and hazardous threats at the touch of a button. Utilizing Raman technology, the device is an intuitive chemical analyzer and provides emergency responders, law enforcement professionals and the military with the industry’s most comprehensive chemical detection range in a handheld form. So far Rigaku has sold the Progeny™ ResQ™ to a number of countries inclsuing the UK< USA, Finland, France, Germany and Poland to the military, para military and Police.
Designed for routine response tactics, Progeny ResQ has a large easily readable display and operates with the push of one button, making it easy to use while wearing Level A and M3-type protective suits and gloves. Weighing just 3.5lbs with extended battery life and certified to MIL-STD-810G and IP-68, users of Progeny ResQ will benefit from its ergonomic design and ruggedness for ease of use in the field. At the scene of an incident, first responders need to be able to get in and out of the hot zone as quickly as possible; Progeny ResQ is equipped with a measurement delay timer enabling users to initiate analyses after they have removed themselves from the investigative scene. In addition to identifying unknown substances, Progeny ResQ also provides hazard information and classifications for indicating next steps in remediation action plans. With its unique 1064nm excitation laser Progeny ResQ can measure colored solids and liquids, a capability that has proven challenging to conventional handheld Raman instruments, as well as substances through containers, overcoming issues of fluorescence interference that affect other handheld Raman devices. Raman spectroscopy is a non-destructive technique and requires no sample preparation so critical evidence remains intact. Thanks to its built-in analytical power, Progeny ResQ can distinguish between mixed and pure compounds so users can identify the correct ID of a threat in a compounded material. The device also provides the industry’s most comprehensive library with over 12,000 common materials, TICs/TIMs, CWAs and explosives and 300 critical compounds.
Recently Rigaku has introduced a free downloadable library of compounds which is updated at regular intervals to give customers access to the latest compounds, drugs, chemicals and explosives being developed worldwide. In addition, the system has the ability to be networked to enable the results of tests to be sent to locations from remote areas.
The powerful analytical capabilities and industrial design of Progeny ResQ have been praised by federal and state level representatives who were invited to test Progeny ResQ against competitive instruments. Feedback from such sessions was used during the Progeny ResQ product development to further optimize the device for use in the field and ensure that Progeny ResQ met the needs of end users faced with increasingly sophisticated chemical threats as well as widespread drug trafficking.
“With unprecedented ease of use, ruggedness and range of measurement, Progeny ResQ provides HAZMAT teams, army personnel and first responders with the results they need to make critical decisions with confidence. With its unique 1064KW laser technology, the need for swabs and other testing is negated. Thus the user is safer from any contamination resulting from touch of these compounds. In addition this allows easier operations working in a Hazmat suit. The ability of the system to detect compounds through glass bottles of any colour is a huge advantage as the operator does not have to remove lids or tops which would release any poisonous compounds into the air.” Arve Lukander said. “Progeny ResQ essentially acts as a PhD at your fingertips, delivering lab-quality analysis at the point of need. There is increasing recognition of the powerful capabilities of handheld Raman and the initial feedback we have received from end-user testing has been extremely positive. It demonstrates the need within the industry for a detection tool that meets the requirements of those responsible for protecting society from ever evolving chemical and explosive threats; Progeny ResQ provides the solution.”
Conclusion
With the current rise in the ChemBio threat worldwide, there is certainly a huge place in the market for Rigaku’s products and we expect to hear more from this Company in the not so distant future.