Smiths Detection-watford Limited

William Richard Mawer

Douglas Jason Green

Gary Howard

Piers Sebastian Harding

Jay Lewington

John Walter Czajka

Carmelo Volpe

Thomas David Ford

Jason Betley

Catherine Mills

Michael Roy Fairs

Barry Boyes

Colin Fewster

Apparatus for preparing a biological sample for PCR analysis has an inlet () for receiving the sample () and a sieve () through which the sample is forced by screwing down an inlet cap (). A lysis solution between two rupturable seals (and) is effective to disrupt the cells of the sample and release nucleic acid. The apparatus is mounted releasably on a PCR machine () having a motor () releasably coupled with a drive mechanism () in the apparatus to effect a rotary and a vertical up and down movement of its components (). The apparatus has a transparent cuvette () and a needle () extending to the lower end of the cuvette, by which the prepared sample is dispensed to the cuvette for PCR analysis.

Sample preparation apparatus

A portal () has a millimetric wave imager () arranged to detect articles concealed on the person. A pump () supplies jets of air through gas outlets () in the lower part of the portal (), which are directed onto the feet of the person being screened. A second pump () pumps air with substances released by the jets via inlets () to an ion mobility spectrometer () arranged to detect the presence of explosives or narcotics. A screen () indicates the presence of any suspect article or substance on the person being screened.

Millimetre-wave detection device for discriminating between different materials

Growing community of inventors

Welwyn, United Kingdom

William Richard Mawer