SANTA BARBARA, Calif., July 2, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Gas Imaging Technology (GIT), a wholly owned subsidiary of Pacific Advanced Technology (PAT), a privately held manufacturer of unique gas imaging and analysis systems that address critical needs for the oil, gas, utility and chemical industries, announces that Michele Hinnrichs, CEO, addressed the 100th Annual Conference of the Air and Waste Management Association in Pittsburg on June 29th. The presentation, titled "Miniature Optical Imaging Sensor for Smart LDAR Detection and Quantification Using Diffractive Optical Lenslet Arrays," addresses an enhancement to technology developed by GIT, which autonomously locates, identifies and quantifies gas leaks.
With the support of the Army Research Labs in Adelphi, Maryland, PAT demonstrated the ability of a diffractive optical element to image both the LWIR and MWIR spectral region with a single optical element and a dual band focal plane array. This approach, developed for defense applications, has been adapted by GIT for use in the commercial market and will bring a revolutionized capability to the LDAR community.
The presentation, titled "Miniature Optical Imaging Sensor for Smart LDAR Detection and Quantification Using Diffractive Optical Lenslet Arrays" discusses work that was funded under a Small Business Innovative Research program sponsored by the Missile Defense Agency. The paper addresses an enhancement to technology developed by PAT for defense applications and commercialized by GIT into a camera for remote imaging and quantification of gases. This approach will reduce data collection time, allow for improved spectral and radiometric sensitivity, and enable robust algorithms for autonomously locating, identifying and quantifying gas leaks. A sensor using this technique will use a dual band midwave/longwave infrared (MWIR/LWIR) focal plane array coupled with a lenslet array in order to optimize the spectral region for detecting and identifying the different gases of interest. Adaptability between the MWIR and LWIR bands will enable more robust hydrocarbon gas speciation capability. It will also allow for the detection of other gases such as Ammonia, SOx, H2S etc. A copy of the paper is available upon request from the Company by contacting micheleh@gitint.com.
During last year's conference, GIT introduced Sherlock(r), the only gas imaging and quantification instrument available on the market today and for the foreseeable future. Industry representatives acknowledged as superior Sherlock's unique ability to image invisible gases and to quantify their concentrations as the wave of the future for gas imaging technology, surpassing even the most recent advances of GIT's closest competitors.
Michele Hinnrichs, CEO of GIT, stated, "We are pleased with the reception received at the conference from users of gas imaging products in the gas chemical and oil industry. This interest confirms our belief that our gas imaging and analysis products can solve several of their environmental and safety issues. Sales of our products to the oil, gas, chemical and power industries to the world wide markets have been strong the first half of 2007, and indications of interest in our products give us encouragement that sales will continue to grow."
About Gas Imaging Technology
Gas Imaging Technology, (GIT) (www.gitint.com) a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pacific Advanced Technology (PAT) (www.patinc.com), is a California corporation located in Santa Barbara County. GIT has an exclusive worldwide license for products that uniquely address compliance with new EPA standards and address critical needs of refineries, power and chemical plants, oil and LNG tankers and terminals, as well as many other facilities. More than $14 million has been invested in development of the PAT technology underlying the Sherlock gas imaging and analysis systems. A substantial portion of this funding came from various military, federal and commercial sources including the US Army, US Navy, US Air Force, Missile Defense Agency, DARPA, Department of Energy, State of California, Gas Research Institute, BP and Shell Global Solutions.
GIT's Products
The Sherlock VOC -- enables the user to "see" emissions of invisible gases that pose grave environmental hazards and expose refineries, chemical and power plants to the risk of catastrophic fires and explosions. The Sherlock incorporates a mid-wave infrared camera that includes PAT's patented IMSS lens and an imbedded computer that can perform the function of data logging, imaging spectroscopy, and digital video recording.
The Sherlock FE -- being used in field trials to monitor and analyze the efficiency of flares and to continuously monitor smokestack emissions. The Sherlock FE is the only system currently on the market that can analyze flare efficiency. It remotely monitors and generates a pixel-by-pixel quantitative analysis of flares and smokestacks. In many circumstances, this remote monitoring can be done from a location that can be miles from the source.