Millimeter-Wave Body Scanner: A Case Study in the Evolution of Invention

 

Statistics indicate that 60%-80% of new products fail for a variety of reasons. However, 50% of new products result from a different intent, producing "accidental" inventions. Many untended results of product research are prevalent in the environment today. Some well-known examples include penicillin, the world's first antibiotic, discovered in 1928 by Sir Alexander Fleming, who was experimenting with bacteria, left for vacation, and returned to find unusual growth in a petri-dish that eventually led to the discovery. The microwave one discovered by Raytheon engineer Percy Spencer, who noticed while working with magnetron caused a chocolate candy bar in his pocket to melt. The pacemaker resulted from research on heart sound monitoring instruments when researchers noticed an inadvertently placed transistor mimicking the human heartbeat (Deb, 2020).

This paper focuses on recent technology, the Millimeter-Wave Body Scanner, developed at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington, that originated as a discovery effort and simple prototype during the mid-1990s. Due to substantial external forces, the discovery effort rapidly became a significant priority, escalating from an experiment to a fully developed production product deployed worldwide. While the technology is not as accidental as some classic examples, the final product's implementation far exceeded the original intent. Lastly, the technology's repurposing into an entirely different market is an example of an invention's unintended outcomes (McMakin et al., 2017).

Background

In the mid-1990s, the traditional metal detectors in public forums such as airport terminals were commonplace; however, the technology had limits, namely detecting only metal objects. The new emerging threats were sophisticated, including devices and explosives made from plastics and liquids that a criminal could carry on their person through a traditional metal detector. In 1996, the Federal Aviation Administration, the predecessor to today's Transportation Security Administration (TSA), partnered with PNNL to perform research on new capabilities enabling screening of possible non-metallic threats. Millimeter-wave technology held promise, as small wavelengths can penetrate outer clothing and form high-resolution computer images. Since the required power levels for detection are small, the technology does not cause harm to humans. Research at PNNL between 1996 and 2000 on millimeter-wave body scanning included several different configurations, a planer device, and a cylindrical construction. The latter held more promise providing a 360-degree view of the subject (Sheen et al., 2001).

The product was in various staging of testing when an external force, the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001, forever changed the technology roadmap. The terrorists involved in the 9/11 attacks could easily carry various tools and weapons onto commercial airlines by-passing traditional metal detection technologies (Choi, 2011). The impact of 9/11 and some failed terrorist attempts within 2001 prompted investment and ramp-up in the PNNL efforts towards developing a production-grade millimeter-wave body scanner. The technology development quickly progressed at PNNL, with licensing rights provided to commercial entities for deployment. The TSA piloted the millimeter-wave body scanners in several U.S. airports and, by 2011, were commonplace through the United States and Europe (Douglas et al., 2009).

Technology Advancement and Repurposing

The millimeter-wave body scanner continues to mature, optimize and improve with new developments in the technology. Imaging improvements include depth resolution, lateral resolution, illumination, coverage, and reduction in imaging artifacts. PNNL leads the improvement efforts, including the fabrication of next-generation prototypes for the Department of Homeland security. Emerging advances in technology address challenges with body traps and crevices and improvements in the scan rate, enabling freezing body motion (McMakin et al., 2017).

Although the millimeter-wave body scanner's impact is transformational in security, it also exists in entirely unrelated markets. Given the technology can obtain precise three-dimensional digital body measurements without a need for a person to disrobe, the technology exists in high-traffic retail apparel locations. The technology allows the consumer to align their body size to garments more accurately, and in some cases providing dimensions for custom-fit apparel (McMakin et al., 2017). The full-body scanner market, which includes millimeter-wave scanners, is experiencing vertical growth with a projected gross value of 2.89 billion by 2027 with a growth rate of 7.88% (Global Body Scanner Market – Industry Trends and Forecast to 2027, 2020).

Most recently, millimeter-wave body scanning technology is part of exploration and research in detecting breast and lung cancer. The water content and biochemistry of tissues change when containing cancer. With their short wavelengths and precise penetration, millimeter waves make them highly effective in sensing the pathological change in tissue layers from which many skin tumors instigate. Implementation of the technology for skin tumor demarcation is transformative not only in detection but also surgery, where it can provide accurate insights into tumor size, improving the ability to remove tumors while limiting the extraction of healthy tissue (Mirbeik-Sabzevari & Tavassolian, 2019).

Resisting Forces

While the millimeter-wave body scanner is transformational in the defense, apparel, and medical communities, the technology is not without opposing forces. There exists concern over privacy given the precision of body images the technology produces. While measures are in place to alleviate personal identification issues such as generic outlines, airline passengers can decline the scanner for a manual scan (Choi, 2011). The other opposing force is the concern of safety concerning millimeter-waves. While high energy doses of millimeter waves are harmful, the scanner technology uses safe, low levels (McMakin et al., 2017).

References

Choi, C. Q. (2011). Yes We Scan: Have Post-9/11 Airport Screening Technologies Made Us Safer? Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/have-new-airport-screening-technologies-inspired-by-9-11-made-us-safer/#:~:text=Airport%20security%20breaches%20on%20and%20after%209%2F11%20have,scanners%20to%20prevent%20future%20tragedies.%20The%209%2F11%20

Deb, T. (2020). Failed Inventions. Science Reporter. http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/55543/1/SR%2057%2811%29%2014-19.pdf

Douglas, L. M., Paul, E. K., David, M. S., & Thomas, E. H. (2009). Dual-surface dielectric depth detector for holographic millimeter-wave security scanners. Proc.SPIE, 7309. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.817882

Global Body Scanner Market – Industry Trends and Forecast to 2027. (2020). (Semiconductors and Electronics, Issue. https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-body-scanner-market

McMakin, D., Sheen, D., Hall, T., Tedeschi, J., & Jones, A. M. (2017). New improvements to millimeter-wave body scanners. Proceedings of 3DBODY. TECH. https://doi.org/10.15221/17.263

Mirbeik-Sabzevari, A., & Tavassolian, N. (2019). Tumor Detection Using Millimeter-Wave Technology: Differentiating Between Benign Lesions and Cancer Tissues. IEEE Microwave Magazine, 20(8), 30-43. https://doi.org/10.1109/MMM.2019.2915472

Sheen, D. M., McMakin, D. L., & Hall, T. E. (2001). Three-dimensional millimeter-wave imaging for concealed weapon detection. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 49(9), 1581-1592. https://doi.org/10.1109/22.942570