FAQ – Scentlogix

Frequently Asked Questions

Each imprint sample weights about 20 gm and each evaluation aid weights about 12 grams.

Each respective Evaluation Aid represents a fragmented component of the broadband scent signature of the explosive, as can be deduced using factors such as volatility and scent quality, and as comprised within the Imprint Aid. However, their combination does not represent the whole odor picture. The picture will be accurate but not precise, and this is a difference that matters to the olfaction process.

The set time is depended on the circumstances within which an Evaluation or Imprint Aid is being used. Set times will be less for enclosed spaces and higher for open spaces. The set time for enclosed spaces will be proportional to the volume of the space within which scent should be dispersed. We recommend a set time of 6 – 10 minutes for an aid within a 1Ft3 box, at normal room temperature, pressure and humidity. For instances where one might want a K9 to alert on some large spaces or objects such as ship-cargo containers, there is a need to replicate a substantial odor presence within the whole container and it is advisable to evenly space multiple bags of the same aid at regular intervals. The recommended set time for outdoor use is also be depended on wind speed, temperature and humidity and the dynamics of where and how the aid is concealed i.e., is it placed in a dustbin within a park or it is placed under twigs on a flat open field. We hope that ScentLogix™ users will employ the ScentLogix™ interactive blog to share their experiences about the set times used within their training locales worldwide.

These aids are essentially “fragrances of explosives and narcotics”, and not “explosives and narcotics,” thus they do not have the chemical or physiological capacity for which the parent material is hazardous nor do they need to be transported, handled or stored in matters accorded parent materials. In fact, they can be handled as a normal article, but keep in mind that, in this article itself is precious, as the integrity of the scent of the article is its most important aspect. This, means that you really do not want to it around as this will release more scent and you do not want to leave it exposed when not in use.

Yes it is! To generate the same intensity of odor, the set time should be inversely proportional to operational temperature. The calculation of temperature itself might be multiphase as there are 2 different types of temperature-based factors to consider. The first pertains to the macrosystem: room (inside) or atmospheric (outside) temperature; while the second pertains to the microsystem: temperature of the microenvironment of the aids, for example, the temperature of objects or surfaces in contact with the aids. Alongside temperature, set time is also affected by the humidity of the environment and the atmospheric pressure. Sometimes it is also affected by the direction and strength of wind currents, and the presence of strong background odors.

No, due to the fabrication process, there is no need for acclimatization if the product was stored in the fridge. If stored in the freezer, you might want allow a 90 second acclimation time before use. We anticipate that this and any other time needed for acclimation will have been achieved while setting the odors up for the training process and waiting for the teams to commence training.

Although the nanotechnology-based methods and ScentLoc® process used in the manufacture will ensure that the Aids never smear objects they are placed upon, the vapor generated by these Aids can permeate through porous materials. However, since this transfer occurs only through the process of diffusion, the continuous exposure of this object to air will aid in the quick dissipation of the scent back into the atmosphere, leaving no trace residue whatsoever on the object. One of the main determinants of the impact of odor transfer to K9 detection is if the odor is transferred is enough to be exuded at a rate that is within the olfactory threshold of the K9, by the transferred material. This will be difficult to achieve if the odor transfer is simply by touching two materials together for brief amounts of time. Even if achieved, it will not be long-lasting at all.

Its usage time is determined using the standard accepted Law Enforcement/Military/SWGDOG training requirement of 16 hours/ month (4 hrs./week). After the recommended usable time, it is advisable to discard the aid as it will start to loose some of the principal components of its broadband odor signature – just like a real explosive – and leaving breaks in the continuity of the spectrum of overlapping scents pertinent for, for example, the multiscent detection capability needed by K9’s for the detection of large amounts of explosives.

The aids are not affected by moisture. Let moistened bags dry out naturally during the training process. Dispose of bags that are complete drenched in water, or call ScentLogix™ for technical advice. Do not attempt to dry aids by exposing to heat as this will only result in accelerated and/or complete loss of scent material. Do not puncture bag and release contents..

We are currently developing cocaine, heroin and PETN imprint and evaluation aids for K9 detection, and ScentLogix™ Inose versions to enhance the calibration and sensitivity of pre-existing detector instrumentation programmed to detect these hazards.

ScentLogix™ K9 scent kits are developed to provide three different training and evaluation aid choices. These choices are as follows:

(i) a de-energized explosive scentkit with aids fabricated using our patent pending ScentCapture™ technique, which provides the full spectrum of odors of an explosive material that has been stripped of its energetic properties. This method of “de-energization” can be applied to all explosives; however, since we are more interested in the odoriferous properties of an explosive than its physical properties, this process is only deemed necessary for the fabrication of scentkits for low-vapor pressure, shock sensitive explosives, such as the entropy burst group of explosives and as represented by TATP. These scentkits are appropriate for both K9 and Machine (VDM) detection programs.

(ii) a composite odor scentkit that comprises aids that exude odor components of the headspace scent signature of an explosive material deemed necessary for its detection. Using our patent pending ScentCapture™ technique, these scentkits are appropriate for both K9 and Machine (VDM) detection programs, with the ScentLogix™ K9 scentkits providing those odors that are more tuned to biological detection and the ScentLogix™ VDM being more tuned towards machine detection.

(iii) a surrogate odor scentkit that comprises of aids that exude odors that are so odoriferously indistinguishable to the odors of the volatile components of an explosive material they cannot be differentiated by a K9. This inability to resolve such scents is due to limitations of the olfactory system of a canine (i.e., the resolution of the K9 nose), and not the fault of the canine. It can however be taken advantage of, and used to provide training scents of lethal vapors or extremely dangerous explosives such as TATP. Surrogate scentkits are also not appropriate for straight forward machine calibration and detection processes, but for advanced developmental programs involving these machines. They are also invaluable for use within R&D efforts at the interface of mammalian olfaction.

“pseudoscent” is a word that is very much used in a qualitative way, and most products defined as pseudoscents are made as such. For example, in the perfume industry a lot of pseudoscents are classified solely by the use of a “human nose.” Uses of such qualitative methods to define scents have also been applied to the production of training-aid scents for the K9 industry. However, these scents have proven to be so ineffective in K9 detention and training that most K9 trainers and handlers now shudder at the word “pseudo”.

Unlike these qualitatively qualified scents, ScentLogix™ surrogate odor scents are the true odoriferous equivalents of the explosives that they represent. This equivalence has have been scientifically determined using our cutting edge advancements in the prediction of structure-odor relationships. Our scientific determinations embrace quantitative studies that take into consideration additive factors stemming from the olfactory mechanisms of a canine, its limitations, and the final perception of the scent by the canine itself, to provide a surrogate scent with an odor quality that is no different from that of the explosive that it mimics. Remember, we are more interested in the odoriferous properties of an explosive and not its physical properties. These surrogate scents are particularly useful in the formulation of safe training aids of those explosive scents whose parent odors are still explosive by nature, such as dynamite, and for researches in the sciences who desire scent simulants for their R&D pursuits in elucidating mechanisms that pertain to scent olfaction and perception.

We are aware that some vendors sell their K9 detection training aids all in the same box. But remember, The ScentLogix ScentKits are not just a suite of scents, but scientifically developed and purpose built to provide you with the best research-grade scents, scent logics, and procedural tools for your training programs. The significance of each explosive being independently addressed, in conjunction with the recommended evaluation program, cannot be underemphasized. Some of the reasons that prevented us from unifying all the explosives into one kit are as follows:

1. Individualizing the kit scents prevents such cross contamination of the product that may be caused by the leakage of vapors from different explosive types into the same enclosed headspace and their permeation of the whole kit headspace, causing subsequent vapor based reactions and the formation (and condensation) of new contaminating odors within the kit.

2. When different explosive types are contained withi a single kit, the probability of unintentional product and kit contamination due to handing errors becomes non-negligible. For example, a propensity for mistakes involving putting scents into the correct package or placing scents onto shared surfaces increases during nighttime use. Such an error will lead to the contaminatory loss of the whole kit. If only one kit is available, this leads to an interruption of the whole training program and, if the K9 trainer disregards the contamination, it leads to the production of inefficient K9’s trained on contaminated aids. The consequence derived from the cross contamination of odors from the same explosive type is less of a that from the cross contamination of odors from different explosive types. Alas, how can there be cross contamination within the same explosive kit since all the scents really belong to a single scent signature? So, the issue of cross contamination, including its statistical probability, is negated within ScentLogix™ kits.

If scientists collaborate comprehensively with K9 trainers in the use of ScentLogix™ K9 ScentKits, the technology involved can be applied not only to benefit society, but also to benefit mankind through a better understanding of K9s. Some of the benefits of using ScentLogix™ K9 ScentKits are as follows:

Expands training opportunities into other creatures and terrains

ScentLogix™ K9 ScentKit for Explosives and Narcotics Detection provides such a broadband scent signature of primary odor components that it is also appropriate for the training of other terrestrial creatures with good olfactory sensitivity and search-and-detect-capability. Such creatures can include those with olfactory configurations comparable to K9’s – such as beavers, to those with completely different olfactory configurations – such as bees. It can also be applied towards the training of aquatic creatures innately endowed with superb olfactory capabilities, in the detection of chemicals within water. ScentLogix™ K9 ScentKit for Explosives and Narcotics Detection can also be configured for training aquatic creatures with search-and-detect potentials such as the catfish, great white shark, and dolphins, to detect the presence of chemical materials present within water bodies. Such chemicals might range from explosives to chemical pollutants…even shipwrecks.

Train on one scent, detect many types of explosives

Most explosive compositions used as explosives normally consist of a combination of two or more explosive compounds. Due to the formulation of ScentLogix™ K9 scents, a K9 trained on one type of ScentLogix Imprint Aid will be able to detect the presence of that explosive within any multicomponent explosive composition. Thus by simply training your K9 on ScentLogix™ K9 TNT ScentKit your K9 will detect all the explosive compositions that contain TNT as a main component. This expands the range of detectable chemical explosives to over 100 different kinds of explosive configurations from all over the world. Please click here for some of the explosives within the extended range of explosive compositions covered by ScentLogix™ K9 ScentKit for Explosives and Narcotics Detection.

Introduces new paradigms to scent-detection science

ScentLogix™ K9 ScentKit for Explosives Detection is the world’s first tool for K9 detection that enables the development of standards and theories that can be used to qualify degrees of K9 efficiency at different detection levels, both quantitatively and qualitatively.

Up until now, trainers have imprinted k9s with materials which even they do not know what the K9 are supposed to smell, so, how can we expect K9’s to know? ScentLogix™ K9 ScentKit for Explosives Detection Imprint Aids provide a consistent scent signature that will allow K9 to quickly figure out what it is they have to smell. Also, the evaluation aids provided within each ScentLogix™ K9 ScentKit for Explosives Detection provides the trainer with a quantitative way to ensure that imprinting of all the components of the ScentLogix™ K9 Scent Imprint Aid have been learnt by the K9 and not just components assumed by the K9.

These unique properties puts the training process, at last, in the hands of the trainer, as the trainer now has tools to measure the success of his training program., can prove that the K9 has learnt and what needs to be learnt. Furthermore the trainers also has the tools to asses and certify the competence of K9s from other training centers, since as Evaluation Aids can also be used for measuring the extent of scent signature recognition by a trained K9. With ScentLogix™ K9 ScentKit for Explosives Detection as a training tool, the art of biological detection becomes a real science, and advances in K9 detection can start to benefit from the amalgamated activities of people from different fields of science.

Enables effective training in a variety of climatic conditions

The nanotechnology based process used in the manufacture of ScentLogix™ K9 series of ScentKits for Explosives and Narcotics Detection ScentLogix ensures the appropriate release of a longlasting scent signature to a research-grade level of consistency, even within training terrains that have extreme conditions of temperature, humidity and pressure. Our products were tested in the hot plains of Arizona to the humid swelter of Florida for verification of proficiency, and they all passed with full marks! We also welcome enquires for the production of these scents for extreme environmental conditions.

Provides a full spectrum of explosive detection scent markers

Looks can be deceiving! Because an explosive material is physically available does not mean that it has a full scent signature. The concentration and chemical nature of scents exuding from an explosive undergoes changes as an explosive ages. It is just like having a fresh hamburger; when it is very fresh you could smell the bun, the mayonnaise, and ketchup and the meat. After a period of time the scent of the bun is lost. This is followed by a loss of the scent of the mayonnaise, then the ketchup, and then the meat….until the burger has practically no scent, but the burger is still there! The question is, “how do we know if the explosive being used for training has a scent signature adequate for the effective training of detector-K9’s?” ScentLogix™ K9 ScentKit for Explosives and Narcotics Detection provides detector-K9s with a consistent scent signature, and with an unmatchable profile of scent tendrils necessary to train a detector-K9 in maintaining an unbroken detection trail. With the operational use of ScentLogix ScentKits, the art of detection becomes easier for both trainer and K9.

Allows for realistic training within built-up and civilian environments

Due to its chemical inertness and absolute lack of an explosive or narcotic property, ScentLogix™ K9 ScentKits are not classified as explosives or narcotics and can be transported, handled and stored in the same ways as fragrances. Furthermore, the scent signatures within the ScentKits are completely free of odors that overlap with common consumer products to allow the training of dogs to be more selective, precise and less excitable when deployed in civilian settings. Thus, ScentLogix™ K9 ScentKits can be used with no restrictions in civilian environments and built-up areas to generate more realistic training scenarios.

Will train K9’s to detect all explosive weight equivalents

There has been a common mistake-of-thinking that there is a direct correlation between the physical weights of an explosive, to its scent. This correlation is not quite straightforward, for when dealing with the property of scent, other factors such as the vapor pressure of the components within the material and the surface area provided by the material for its constituent volatiles are more important variables of the material than the weight of the material. One very important variable pertains to the amount of volatile materials within th explosive material. Due to the binary or multi component nature of explosives, most explosives end up with a scent signature comprising of different volatile organic compounds. It is the ratio and intensity of these components within the scent signature of an explosive that is the scent equivalent to differences in weight.

In some instances, the mass of an explosive composition can be so large that the scent(s) of its most volatile component(s) become so overwhelming to a K9’s olfactory processes that it becomes desensitized itself to the perception of scent(s). At this level of scent saturation, the low volatile components become the significant explosive markers for detection, as their concentration will now be within the limits of the olfactory threshold of canines, and will provide the scent cone that the K9 will eventually use to seek the detect the explosive. Since each ScentLogix™ K9 ScentKit contains a scent signature that covers the scent of both low and high weight amounts of explosives, the actual weight of ScentLogix™ explosive imprint material used becomes insignificant, as it has the scent quality and profile representative of all weights of an explosive. The use of ScentLogix™ K9 ScentKits for Explosives and Narcotics Detection within a canine training program will lead to the generation of k9s that have been trained on the range of scent tendrils needed to maintain an unbroken detection trail.

Reduces False Alerts

While a human may smell hamburgers at Burger King, a K9 will smell the components of the hamburger. So, it will smell bread, pickles, onions, meat and mayo. However, it will also smell cleaning fluids, volatiles from the hot plastic food packaging, the scent of the person who handled the food, etc. The Scent signature within every ScentLogix ScentKit Imprint Aid has been cleaned up, or “scrubbed,” to produce an imprint aid free of scents that overlap with common consumer products. These allows the training of dogs that can be freely used in civilian settings as they will be less excitable when exposed to these odors within the hustle-and-bustle of litigation-prone a civilian setting and produce less false alerts. ScentLogix Imprint Aids can also be specifically tailored to modify and/or reinforce aspects of K9 behaviour and to compliment research and developmental efforts in the olfactory and behavioral sciences.

Available in both parent odor and surrogate odor configurations

In addition to the formulation of scent signatures using primary odors, we are also the world’s experts in the formation of structural equivalents of explosive materials that are “non-explosive but odoriferously identical.” These surrogate odors can be used within a biological detection training program or as pseudoscents within R&D activities pertaining to olfaction science. Furthermore, this know-how can be extended to the development of scents for materials such as narcotics, that are non-physiologically modifying but odoriferously identical.

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