The Cyclone Technology is an integral part of the Company's present portable hand-held and bench-top explosives detection devices; and will be an integral component of new products under development, such as a passenger portal and a shoe bomb detector.
The notice of allowance indicates that the Company has fulfilled all requirements for the issuance of a new patent entitled, "Cyclone Sampling Nozzle for an Ion Mobility Spectrometer," expected to be issued in the next two to three months.
The Company's proprietary Cyclone Technology provides for a cyclonic flow outward from the explosives detector nozzle that develops a cylindrical "wall" of air allowing the device to sample explosives from a specific point, thereby preventing extraneous air from diluting the sample.
The Cyclone Technology, in connection with the ability to detect explosives "vapors" as opposed to "particles", result in one of the many features that differentiates the Company's trace explosives detection technology from key competitors like GE Ion Track and Smiths Detection.
In the past several months, GE Ion Track and Smiths Detection have announced field trials of the GE EntryScan3 and Smiths Detection Sentinel II walk-through explosives detector portal in select U.S. airports.
The technology employed by both GE Ion Track and Smiths Detection, based on publicly available information, requires the passing or "puffing" of air across a person's clothing or body to release "particles" that can then be evaluated for explosives content.
In contrast, Implant Sciences' proprietary QS technology is, to the best of managements' knowledge, the only technology which detects pure vapors of explosives. In layman's terms, the QS technology is closest to replicating the "sniffing" ability of dogs.
The pending issuance of a patent on the Company's Cyclone Technology further strengthens the Company's technological position in the detection of trace explosives. As of this date, the Company is not aware of any significant orders of either the GE EntryScan3 or Smiths Detection Sentinel II for wide-spread commercial use in the U.S. airports.
Although an internal development program for a passenger portal is underway, the Company will also be submitting a proposal for a government grant to supplement this development using the technology in this patent. The Company believes that its cyclone sampling system coupled with its enhanced sensitivity Laser IMS detector will make a passenger portal with superior capabilities.
Dr. Anthony J. Armini, CEO of Implant Sciences Corporation, stated, "It has always been our belief that our Quantum Sniffer technology is unique and clearly differentiated from our competitions' technology in the methodology, sensitivity, and efficiency of detection. The addition of the pending patent on our Cyclone Technology further strengthens our proprietary position."
Dr. Armini further stated, "We believe we continue to prove time and time again the unique capabilities of our development team to introduce novel technology addressing the commercial needs of a very large security market."
"With the successful introduction of our Quantum Sniffer at the recent AVSEC conference, we are now quoting potential customers, outside of military agency customers, to obtain orders for our first generation of explosive detection equipment."