Headwall Applications

• Agricultural Research
• Crop Management
• High Throughput In-Line Inspection
  • Fruits
  • Vegetables
  • Poultry
  • Specialty Crops

The utilization of hyperspectral imaging for the in-line inspection of poultry, fruits, vegetables, and specialty crops holds exceptional potential for not only increasing the quality and safety of food products but also offers a significant financial return for food processors by increasing the throughput and yield of processing centers. While machine vision technology has been a standard approach to many food inspection and safety applications, hyperspectral imaging offers the incremental benefit of analyzing the chemical composition of food products both for in-line inspection and in the laboratory thereby significantly increasing production yields. Through high-throughput chemometrics, food products can be analyzed with hyperspectral sensing for disease conditions, ripeness, tenderness, grading, or contamination.

• Crime Scene Investigation
• Counterfeit Detection
• Document Testing & Verification
• Materials Identification
• Non-Invasive Latent Print Analysis

Hyperspectral imaging, also known as chemical sensing, affords forensic scientists unique advantages in terms of non-invasively analyzing crime scenes, evidence, or other objects of interest. Once strictly limited to the confines of the laboratory, Headwall's Hyperspec™ imaging technology is small enough and portable to be utilized in a wide range of environments from crime scenes to lab benches. The utilization of custom-designed diffraction optics enables the selection of optimized hyperspectral imagers covering broad spectral regions.

The Hyperspec™ sensors are configured with either scene scanning capability (pan & tilt systems) or available as integrated instruments for sample analysis and image rendering in a forensic laboratory.

• Fluorescence
• High Throughput Screening
• Laboratory Research & Development
• Multi-Channel Spectroscopy
• Nanobead & Quantum Dot Detection

Hyperspectral imaging is an invaluable analytical technique for life sciences and biotechnology applications whether used as a traditional high performance spectral imaging instrument or whether deployed as a multi-channel spectroscopy instrument. Readily integrated with other laboratory instruments, Headwall's Hyperspec™ instruments offer the researcher access to accurate, calibrated, and repeatable spectral analysis.

When utilized as a multi-channel spectrometer, researchers are able to conduct high-throughput screening experiments where high spectral resolution, spatial differentiation, and channel separation are all critical parameters. Optimized for high-throughput screening, the Hyperspec instruments are fully-capable of processing at very high speeds based on selected spectral bands or wavelengths of interest. Learn More »

• Microscopy
• Non-Invasive Diagnostic Imaging
• Optical Biopsy
• Tissue Demarcation
• Therapeutic Analysis

For diagnostic medical applications, hyperspectral sensing provides a highly resolved means of imaging tissues at a either macroscopic or cellular level and providing accurate spectral information relating to the patient, tissue sample, or disease condition.

One obvious advantage of Headwall's Hyperspec™ imaging sensor is the ability to non-invasively scan a complete sample in-vivo with very high spectral and spectral resolution. The size of the area or size of the sample that can be scanned is based on the required field of view (FOV) and the spectral/spatial resolution required (IFOV, instantaneous field of view) by the application. These parameters are application-specific and can be adjusted to configure specific sensor components required to achieve the necessary diagnostic or investigatory imaging performance.

• Drug Discovery
• Cellular Spectroscopy
• Fluorescence
• Nanobead & Nanoparticle Research

For applications such as tracking and classification of cellular drug absorption and delivery or quantifying the presence of tagged nano-particles within tissue samples, hyperspectral imaging represents a valuable extension of traditional research techniques that can utilize existing optical microscopes available within the laboratory. With research samples positioned along the microscope stage, spectral imaging yields critical analytical information with the addition of a hyperspectral sensor attached with a C-mount adapter of the exit port of the microscope.

With the microscope stage moving the sample area in a "push-broom" manner, hyperspectral imaging simultaneously yields precise information for all wavelengths across the complete spectral range of the sensor.

• Border Protection
• Reconnaissance & Surveillance
• Spectral Tagging
• Targeting

Designed for reliability in harsh environments, Headwall's Hyperspec™ imaging sensors are built for the unique performance and durability requirements necessary for a wide range of military and defense applications. Imaging performance is optimized with Headwall's patented, aberration-corrected sensor design which yields exceptional spectral response and spatial resolution. The Hyperspec™ and Micro-Hyperspec™ imaging instruments are available for a range of deployment platforms including piloted aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), small satellite systems, as well as unmanned and manned ground vehicles where ISR activities are critical.

The advantages of the Hyperspec™ design eliminate aberrations associated with keystone and smile while maintaining imaging performance across a very wide field of view.

• Airborne Exploration
• Drill Core Analysis
• High Volume Process Manufacturing
• Mineral Mapping
• Quarry & Excavation Analysis

Headwall's Hyperspec™ imaging sensors provide unique benefits to increasing the production capacity and efficiency of key operational areas within the mining and mineral processing industries. The utilization of hyperspectral imaging for the in-line inspection of raw minerals and materials in process holds notable benefits for not only increasing the quantity and quality of finished product but also offers a significant financial return on investment for production facilities by increasing the throughput and yield within these processing centers - all with a safe, non-invasive chemical imaging system which can be cost-effectively deployed at numerous points along the production process. User-defined chemometrics and established mineral libraries represent significant opportunity for high level of customization to the specific mining or exploration application.

When Hyperspec™ imaging sensors are deployed early on in the production process, raw material can be analyzed in-line for mineral content to determine the blending additives necessary for required final product. Optimized for in-line conveyor processing, the Hyperspec instruments are fully-capable of processing at very high speeds based on spectral regions and wavelengths of interest. This capability allows mineral processors the benefits of reducing time, temperature, and duration of kiln processing while providing greater quality control over the composition of the final product.

• Blending Quality Control
• Drug Discovery
• Manufacturing to Volume
• Polymorph Analysis
• Spray-Dry Dispersion

The utilization of hyperspectral imaging expedites not only the drug discovery process but holds clear and distinct advantages for pharmaceutical manufacturers moving novel compounds and drugs from the laboratory into the manufacturing plant in an environment governed by the FDA's Process Analytical Technology (PAT) initiative. One obvious advantage of Headwall's Hyperspec™ imaging is the ability to scan multiple batches of tablets simultaneously as tablets are moving across a process line. The number of tablets that can be scanned simultaneously is based on required field of view (FOV) and the spectral/spatial resolution required (IFOV, instantaneous field of view). These parameters are application-specific and can be modeled to configure specific sensor components required to achieve the required imaging and throughput performance.

Raman imaging, a related spectral technique, has also proven to be an invaluable research tool for the drug discovery process. Different from hyperspectral imaging in that the sample is non-destructively excited with a laser, the results of Raman analysis yield spectral information highly specific and identifiable to known substances. Both of these techniques demand exceptional spectral and spatial resolution.

• LCD Quality Control
• Semiconductor Operations
• Pharmaceuticals
• Photovoltaics
• Wafer Inspection

Implementation of in-line or "at-line" spectral sensing for the monitoring of critical formulation and inspection processes represents a valuable analytical technique for capturing important spectral data critical to the maintenance and operation of key steps within a process manufacturing operation. Within the field of view of the sensor, hyperspectral imaging simultaneously yields precise information for all wavelengths across the complete spectral range available. Traditionally, the near infrared range (NIR) of 900 to 1700 nanometers and the extended visible-near infrared (Extended VNIR) range of 600 to 1600 nanometers are of considerable interest for process applications. With a wide field of view and optimized spectral and spatial resolution, Headwall's Hyperspec™ sensors are customized for in-line and at-line material inspection and quality control.

• Civil & Environmental Engineering
• Environmental Monitoring
• Pollution Detection
• Forestry Management
• Precision Agriculture
• Mineral Exploration

Hyperspectral imaging, also known as chemical sensing, affords researchers and biologists unique opportunities to conduct both airborne and stationary spectral analysis for remote sensing applications. Airborne hyperspectral imaging represents an established remote sensing technique for capturing important spectral data critical to remote sensing applications. Within the field of view of the sensor, hyperspectral imaging simultaneously yields precise information for all wavelengths across the complete spectral range available. With the creation of the hyperspectral datacube, a data set that includes all of the spatial and spectral information, researchers are able to generate and analyze in-depth environmental spectral imaging data. With Headwall's Hyperspec™ imaging product family, remote sensing spectral analysis can be conducted via airborne platforms or from Headwall's stationary "pan & tilt" sensor configurations.

Space Research & Satellite Sensors

• Atmospheric Sciences
• Environmental Monitoring
• Remote Sensing
• Small Satellite Systems

For space-based applications, Headwall's family of Hyperspec™ imaging sensors offer significant and unique advantages for researchers. Designed for imaging in harsh environments, Headwall's Hyperspec™ imaging sensors are customized for high performance imaging through the utilization of extremely high efficiency optics which yield exceptional spectral and spatial resolution while featuring a very tall image slit for a very wide field of view. The Hyperspec™ platform is a proven instrument offering a robust, stable, and athermalized design optimized for the rigors of space research.

Imaging performance is optimized with Headwall's patented, aberration-corrected sensor design that eliminates all aberrations associated with keystone and smile while maintaining high resolution and imaging performance across a very wide field of view. Hyperspec™ sensors are available for a wide range of spectral regions and optimized configurations.