Over the past few years, we continually reached out to teams of first responders to understand how they are dealing with today’s chemical threats. We heard that the first hardened FTIR chemical analyzer for hazmat response, HazmatID, which we developed years ago while part of SensIR Technologies, is still held in high regard. We also heard that Smiths Detection’s follow-on product HazmatID 360, has great capabilities, but is too large and bulky. The Hazmat ID 360 has since been discontinued, leaving first responders no option for a case-mounted analyzer, which many teams prefer over handheld systems.

With this information in mind, key technical members of the original development team at SensIR Technologies reunited at RedWave Technology and developed the ThreatID, a state-of-the-art FTIR chemical threat analyzer for both warm and hot zone applications. The ThreatID is similar in form factor to HazmatID, but is smaller, lighter, faster, and has advanced capabilities that are a direct response to what responders told us they need today. Ergonomic and performance enhancements are combined with the most important spectroscopy capabilities for identifying unknown chemicals such as residual search, mixture analysis, functional group classification, and rapid comparison of unknown samples spectra to extensive on-board spectral reference databases. Many new, useful features are incorporated such as automated water subtraction, GHS chemical information for common chemicals, push-button data export via email, and rapid, simplified access to search Google, WISER, PubChem, and NIOSH® databases.

A common issue mentioned by many hazmat groups with whom we spoke revolved around data handling and getting information from the device into the hands of decision-makers. ThreatID achieves this with a simplified, push-button email feature that automatically gathers and sends all relevant information including spectra, library hits, images, and final report. Additional support can be accessed through the TeamViewer application, which allows ThreatID users to remotely communicate with additional team members or for reachback support. Furthermore, Redwave’s ThreatAssist support personnel provide a 24/7 reachback service to help with expert chemical analysis assistance.