NIR spectrometer moves out of the lab

A new portable, robust NIR spectrometer brings real-time full NIR spectral measurement to online and at-line applications.

Acimetrics has developed a portable, robust NIR spectrometer that brings real-time full NIR spectral measurement to online and at-line applications.

Using its own patented active control technologies, Acimetrics has produced an NIR spectrometer package that is able to self-initialise, realign after shock and perform real-time self- diagnostic tests.

Added to this, Acimetrics' science team has developed a set of machine intelligence algorithms that can automate the analysis of NIR spectra of target materials - a task previously requiring skilled staff and chemometric software.

These new features enable the well-established two-beam Michelson interferometric method to be packaged into a small, light and portable instrument that can be used by nonspecialists.

The Acimetrics innovation means that NIR measurements that were previously only possible offline in an analytical laboratory, and requiring the aid of trained staff, are now available online at the point of measurement need.

"The Acimetrics active control technology represents a significant step forward in NIR measurement", affirms Development Director Ralph Houston: "Full spectrum NIR measurements that previously involved a time consuming material handling chain can now be done where and when they are needed - in real-time and at the production line".

The Acimetrics NIR spectrometer has applications in any noncontact measurement situation where there are concentrations of organics with an absorption response in the NIR range.

These include the food and beverage, pulp and paper, plastics and pharmaceutical industries.

In a parallel research development, Acimetrics is exploring applications in the medical sector where nonintrusive blood and tissue analysis is a growing market opportunity.

Another sector with a large pent-up demand for real-time nondestructive analysis is the measurement of concentration of bio-molecules in the life-sciences industries.

The medical and bio-opportunities are exciting but Acimetrics' current development focus is on the core sector of noncontact industrial measurement, where full-spectrum NIR sensing is expected to become the dominant technology within the next 5 to 10 years.

The Acimetrics active control technology can be a major driver in this change.

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