Patent Document ID: 20100225899
Application ID: 12754229
Patent Status: 0

Claim One:
1. A method comprising: illuminating a sample to thereby generate a plurality of first interacted photons selected from the group consisting of: photons absorbed by the sample, photons reflected by the sample, photons emitted by the sample, photons scattered by the sample, and combinations thereof; assessing said plurality of first interacted photons using a visible imaging device, wherein said assessing comprises obtaining a visible data set representative of said sample; analyzing said visible data set to thereby identify an area of interest in the sample; illuminating said area of interest to thereby generate a plurality of second interacted photons selected from the group consisting of: photons absorbed by the sample, photons reflected by the sample, photons emitted by the sample, photons scattered by the sample, and combinations thereof; assessing said plurality of second interacted photons using a spectroscopic imaging device, wherein said assessing comprises obtaining a SWIR data set representative of said area of interest of said sample; searching a SWIR database in accordance with the SWIR data set in order to identify a known SWIR data set from said SWIR database, wherein said SWIR database contains a plurality of known SWIR data sets, and wherein each known SWIR data set is associated with a known explosive compound; and identifying an explosive compound in the area of interest based on the known SWIR data set identified by said searching.