Innovative imaging technology for security screening wins business award

A new spin-out company developing innovative imaging technology for the security industry has just won a business plan competition run by the UK research councils.

Lord Sainsbury, Minister for Science and Innovation, presented the prizes after listening to presentations from the five finalists. “This competition highlights how world class UK science is being put to use for the benefit of us all. I congratulate all of the excellent applicants and particularly the winners. They all deserve to be highly successful in the future.”

ThruVision is a new spin-out company from the CCLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL), set up to develop terahertz imaging technology for security screening products.

“I’m thrilled to win this award on behalf of the ThruVision team,” said Dr Jonathan James, Chief Executive Officer for ThruVision. “This prize money of £25,000 has come at absolutely the best time for ThruVision, just as we are spinning out from RAL. The real benefit of ThruVision’s technology is that it is compact and safe – our camera simply ‘looks’ at people without illuminating them with any form of radiation.”

In the past 12 months the ThruVision team (as RAL employees) have built and demonstrated the world’s first compact terahertz camera for security screening applications. A working prototype has successfully imaged objects concealed under clothing including guns and explosives.

The ThruVision team have demonstrated reliable operation of the camera in ‘real world’ situations to potential customers and product prototypes are under development.

ThruVision is building a team combining commercial experience of hi-tech start-ups with world-class technical expertise in terahertz imaging. The company is now raising significant venture capital funding to expand the team and take the company to 1st revenues.