Explosive Detection Techniques Can Identify Counterfeit Drugs

The technology used in bomb detection has another beneficial use; it can identify counterfeit and substandard drugs which pose a major threat to public health and safety.

Nuclear quadrupole resonance spectroscopy (NQR) utilizes harmless radio waves to scan the chemical structure or bonds of prescription pills to make sure they do not contain substances that should not be present. Harmful substances like rat poison or even higher dosages of the active ingredients in the drug can be fatal if ingested; which are commonly found in prescription drugs manufactured in developing countries who want to churn out large amounts of drugs as inexpensively as possible.

The NQR technique is simple, inexpensive and highly effective. All one would have to do is place a sample of the batch, with or without its final packaging, into the device and the tester will know whether or not the drug was genuine and could safely be administered for human consumption. The NQR device can easily scan through materials like glass, cardboard, plastic and wood.

~TeCHS