THE ROLE OF X-RAY EQUIPMENT IN THE FIELD OF COUNTER-IED

X-RAY EQUIPMENT IN THE FIELD OF COUNTER-IED
THE ROLE OF X-RAY EQUIPMENT
IN THE FIELD OF COUNTER-IED
Counter-improvised explosive device (C-IED) policy and the development of IED detection capability
are currently at the forefront of defence agency agendas across both Europe and the US. Multiple
technologies are deployed within C-IED that can assist in early detection, ‘Attack the Network’ and
Intelligence-gathering activities to facilitate the eventual detection and disruption of the supply chains
and ultimately make IED attacks less effective.
By Scanna MSC Ltd
Photo above:
X-ray of IED concealed in a lunchbox.
In seeking to address ways to counter
the IED threat, NATO doctrine outlines
six key operational areas:
1. Detect
2. Mitigate
3. Neutralise
4. Exploit
5. Predict
6. Prevent.
The European Defence Agency (EDA)
also includes other military skills such
as search, route clearance, tactics,
techniques and procedures (TTPs),
IED disposal (IEDD) and counterradio-controlled IED electronic warfare
(CREW).
One of the many sensor technologies
available to acquire data on IEDs is
X-ray imaging, which can see information
beyond the range of human capability.
SEARCH AND DETECTION
X-ray is a useful tool in the soldier’s
search kit for picking out anomalies and
acquiring data on a found or suspicious
object. X-ray inspection of any object will
reveal its nature and can be deployed as
a fast confirmatory tool without the need
to pick up the object.
Search equipment needs to be manportable with the hands left free for
other search tools, so compact X-ray
systems with flat imaging areas such
as Scanwedge that can be carried in a
small backpack and weigh less than
10 kilogrammes (22 pounds) fit this job
perfectly.
Scanwedge can be pre-cabled inside
the backpack so that deployment takes
only the time needed to place the
imaging equipment at the target end, and
start up the laptop and X-ray program
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X-RAY EQUIPMENT IN THE FIELD OF COUNTER-IED
Scanwedge portable x-ray system used
in IED search and detection.
... MORE IMPORTANTLY,
A CR X-RAY SYSTEM
HAS FAST IMAGEPROCESSING
ALGORITHMS FOR
EXCEPTIONALLY HIGHRESOLUTION IMAGES
WITH PIXEL SIZES DOWN
TO 50 MICRONS AND
CAPABLE OF SEEING 10
LINE PAIRS …
42
Counter-IED Report, Autumn/Winter 2012
at the control area. Because the X-ray
device is controlled by software, if the
shot is not right first time, the X-ray
power can be adjusted and the object reinspected remotely without re-approach
within just a few seconds. Many chargecoupled device (CCD) systems, including
Scanwedge, can be fully integrated onto
explosive ordnance disposal (EOD)
robots, allowing the EOD team to move
the X-ray equipment into place as well
as controlling the X-ray system over the
robot communications link or via wireless
communication where applicable.
High-resolution
X-ray
can
also
reveal the construction and location
of component parts inside an IED,
providing valuable information to the
IEDD operator for making a manual or
remote intervention.
MITIGATION AND NEUTRALISATION
Mitigating the threat of an IED means
rapid deployment, fast detection and
neutralisation or rendering safe of
the device. X-ray equipment used for
IEDD tasks needs to have a very high
dynamic range to enable fine wiring
and circuitry detail to be examined, as
well as measurement tools to determine
component coordinates and the ability to
zoom in and select a region of interest for
detailed investigation.
Two X-ray technologies are capable
of performing this task, and each has its
own specific characteristics beneficial to
IEDD tasks.
The first is computed radiography (CR)
equipment, which works in a similar way
to traditional Polaroid film X-ray systems
in that a photo-sensitive film is used to
capture the object X-ray image and then
manually processed to view the image.
Polaroid film could only be used once,
which meant it was necessary to carry and
store boxes of film. Any mistakes meant
new film needed to be used, replaced at
target end and reshot, repeating until an
acceptable working image was achieved.
In addition, the film had dead areas
where edges of cassettes were joined
or unexposed, and where an IED could
potentially go unseen. This had obvious
disadvantages both in terms of time on
task, increased threat to operator and
operating costs.
The latest digital X-ray plates offer fast,
one-click image acquisition and require
only one image to be shot instead of
the five or more that might be needed to
shoot on Polaroid film. This is because
a phosphor imaging plate, which has
10 times the dynamic range of film and
imaging software, can be used to reveal
a layer of detail hidden in the thousands
of greyscale levels that make up a digital
image. Digital film can also be used
again and again, so ongoing operating
costs are much lower.
Another real benefit of a CR system
is that the imaging plates are extremely
flat and flexible and can be taped or hung
from almost any surface. Multiple imaging
plates can be taped together to X-ray a
larger object in a single X-ray exposure,
and the resulting radiographs seamlessly
stitched together in a single large image
using the X-ray software, which is just not
possible with rigid X-ray plates.
More importantly, a CR X-ray system
has fast image-processing algorithms
for exceptionally high-resolution images
with pixel sizes down to 50 microns
and capable of seeing 10 line pairs,
which could be critical for determining
the wiring construct needed for rendersafe procedures. Extra clarity also
makes component location much faster
and accurate, meaning a threat can be
mitigated and neutralised quickly and
with confidence.
As CR systems are film based there is
still the need to process the film before
the X-ray image can be viewed, so
although all that is needed at target end
is a flexible sheet of X-ray film, the size
and weight of the image processor needs
is a factor for consideration in some fieldbased operations.
X-RAY EQUIPMENT IN THE FIELD OF COUNTER-IED
Where man-portability, speed and
image resolution are all determining
factors, and where there is a risk of
chemical, biological, radiological or
nuclear (CBRN) material being present
in an IED and additional precautions
are required, an amorphous silicon,
or aSi, flat-panel X-ray system is the
most applicable tool for the job. Such
imaging systems have a dynamic
range so high that they can achieve
object penetration and contrast detail
previously unobtainable. Small compact
systems such as Scansilc 2520 have a
127-micron pixel size that will capture
the finest detail of wiring or circuitry with
a fast readout time of just 1 second.
They can be backpacked for light-scale
operations, whereas larger panels can
be deployed for large object inspection.
In a suspected CBRN explosives task,
aSi X-ray technology can be used with
dual-energy modules fitted onto the
X-ray source to provide information on
potential organic material. Dual-energy
technology allows X-rays to be measured
in two different energies, which the X-ray
separates into different contrasting
colours to enable operators to identify
and differentiate organic and inorganic
materials.
EXPLOITATION AND PREDICTION
In order to attack the IED network,
military intelligence teams need detailed
information on the construction and
composition of IEDs. Following discovery
or activation of an IED, every fragment
is essential to the forensic team to
understand both its makeup and its likely
provenance. These teams gather and
exploit evidence from blasts and each
device is reconstructed, replicated and
tested.
X-ray investigation is a complementary
technology that enables forensic teams
to recognise an IED signature and also
to predict patterns in bomb making
that may identify a change in tactics or
identify components from a common
source. Recent investigation of wires,
charges and other explosive components
used in a series of bombs have indicated
materials are being sourced from specific
areas, which means strategies to block
these trade routes can be put into place.
Forensic exploitation procedures and
post-blast analysis associated with IEDs
do not need to be carried out where
the device is found. Ruggedness and
portability are therefore less of an issue
and image resolution becomes the
determining factor.
CR systems such as CR35 or ScanX
Scout really come into their own for this
type of task, and larger cabinet X-ray
systems such as the Scanmax 225 (which
runs the same X-ray imaging software as
CR35 and ScanX Scout) are also used in
Level 2 labs to provide a closed radiation
chamber within which objects can be
closely examined and documented.
The X-ray image data is used in a
number of ways including analysis for
identification of explosives/initiators/
booby traps, to produce output for
technical reports on findings, to develop
device profiles and to maintain and
document chains of custody of X-ray data.
X-ray detail of a detonator can reveal its
likely provenance.
CONCLUSION
No single technology can solve the IED
problem, however each has a role to
play. X-ray analysis and imaging has
now become part of a larger data fusion
picture where the signature information
is exported to a central intelligence point
that can reference the image information
to other sensory data to complete the
profile picture.
This holistic use of X-ray images
as part of a larger IED threat analysis
framework should provide a much more
comprehensive picture for exploiting
the forensic evidence within IEDs, in
detecting the supply chain, helping to
predicting future threats and, ultimately,
preventing as many future devices as
possible being successful. ■
... X-RAY
INVESTIGATION IS
A COMPLEMENTARY
TECHNOLOGY THAT
ENABLES FORENSIC
TEAMS TO RECOGNISE
AN IED SIGNATURE …
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