SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has contracted with Stratovan Corporation to develop an enhanced automated explosive detection capability for computed tomography (CT) checked-baggage screening systems. An additional contract was awarded to facilitate standardized information exchange formats and communication protocols for airport security devices consistent with the NEMA DICOS standard. The two contracts have a total value of $6.2 million if all options are exercised.
“The involvement of third parties in the mix of the incumbent OEMs and borrowing proven concepts from the medical industry signal the beginning of a substantial improvement in quality, accuracy and efficiency of checked baggage screening systems. Airline travelers worldwide will benefit over the next several years. We are delighted to be part of this initiative.” — Jim Olson, CEO, Stratovan Corporation
Stratovan products have broad application to both airport security and healthcare in highly similar ways. In its first eight years, the company focused on providing easy-to-use 3D surgical planning products for use in orthopedics, craniofacial surgery, neuroimaging, ophthalmology, and other products to examine 3D shape morphology.
“Our work with the TSA is a natural extension of our innovative 3D surgical planning and diagnostic software. In healthcare, we're looking at tissue properties. In airport security, we're looking at object properties.” — David F. Wiley, Founder, President and CTO, Stratovan Corporation
All Stratovan software products are built on the company's proprietary imaging platform. This platform harmoniously combines interactive methods for 3D geometric modeling and visualization with intuitive user interfaces, allowing rapid generation of high-quality 3D imaging software. Stratovan has filed and has been issued several patents on architectural aspects of its platform.
For this engagement, Stratovan adapted its “Tumbler” image-segmentation technology to automatically delineate all objects within CT scans of checked baggage. Tumbler is a flexible region-growing segmentation method that delineates objects in 3D regardless of shape, topology and orientation. To assure a robust system for TSA, the software makes no assumptions as to object shape, size, type, density, or composition.
“We're looking for a needle in a haystack. The incidence of having an explosive in luggage is far rarer than the incidence of cancer in people. While the challenge is orders of magnitude greater than typically in healthcare, the detection, analysis, and visualization methods are identical.” — David F. Wiley, Founder, President and CTO, Stratovan Corporation
The Stratovan solution loads 3D CT scan data, automatically delineates 3D objects, includes integrated visualization and extracts characteristic signatures of each object that are used for matching and identification.
Stratovan Corporation is a startup company from the Institute for Data Analysis and Visualization (IDAV) at the University of California, Davis, founded in 2005 by David F. Wiley and Bernd Hamann. The Company is grateful to the Northeastern University ALERT Program (Awareness and Localization of Explosives-Related Threats) in Boston, MA for facilitating the company’s introduction into the airport security market. Stratovan is also indebted to the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance (SARTA) in Sacramento, CA for their ongoing support.
Jim Olson, MBA (CEO): has over 30 years of experience in management roles in Silicon Valley. He is the former CEO of SkyStream Networks.
David F. Wiley, Ph.D. (Founder, President and CTO): has over 25 years experience in software development. He is an expert in medical imaging, user interfaces, software platforms, and image processing, with over 25 scientific publications.
Bernd Hamann, Ph.D. (Founder, Director): is a worldwide leading visualization scientist. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of California, Davis, with more than 400 peer-reviewed papers over the last 20 years.
