A scanner that combines the convenience of a desktop scanner with the functionality of a powerful laboratory imaging device has been developed at the University of Oxford (UK), and is now being commercialized by a new company, Oxford Multi Spectral (OMS) Limited, which was spun out by the University’s technology transfer company, Isis Innovation.
The scanner was developed for imaging ancient papyri, and the technology has been used to successfully scan, restore, and archive over a quarter of a million historically significant manuscripts. OMS will focus on the applications in restoring manuscripts and art, as well as the huge potential market for detecting forged security and border control documents, bank notes, and forensic evidence.
The scanner could be used to analyze a variety of samples, including crime scene samples such as counterfeit and altered documents, as well as documents bearing erased or faded entries and signatures.
“Current multispectral imaging kits use cameras, but they are large, expensive, and need specialist operators,” said OMS CEO, Mike Broderick. “Our scanner uses well-proven flatbed scanner technology and powerful image processing to scan visible and ‘invisible’ features that absorb and reflect light at different wavelengths such as inks, pigments, polymers, or papers.”
Dr Alexander Kovalchuk, the physicist who invented the scanner, explained that, “An ordinary color image has three layers: red, green, and blue. A multispectral image has many more layers, some of which are invisible to the human eye, but all of these layers contain potentially useful information. Our scanner is capable of registering an unlimited number of layers.”
Digital images can be taken at different wavelengths of the light band and layered on top of each other, using software to analyze them. The equipment can be set to interrogate a feature such as the surface structure, fibers, stains, watermarks, fingerprints, or alterations.
