Operations Manual

Table Of Contents

FLIR Fido® X4 Operations Manual

3.5.1 Sensing element

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Caution: To avoid burns, when handling the sensing element, take care only

to touch the end of the element that is marked with a dot. See Figure 3-4.

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Caution: Breaking a sensing element will create sharp edges and glass shards

that can cut or puncture skin.

• Do not store sensing elements in clothing pockets.

• Do not put a sensing element where someone might sit or step on it.

• Properly dispose of used or broken sensing elements with care to avoid

injury.

Figure 3-4: Sensing element (dot enlarged)

The Fido X4 sensing element contains the highly sensitive and selective fluorescent and

chemiluminescent sensing materials that make-up TrueTrace technology. During operation,

the unmarked end of the sensing element is inserted into the thermal desorber and heated.

The foundation of the sensing element is an optical-grade glass capillary tube. Sensing mater-

ials are applied as thin films, in a linear, 5-channel array, inside of the capillary. Multiple vari-

ations of these novel materials are used to achieve sensitivity and selectivity across a broad

range of threat materials, including:

• nitroaromatics

• nitrate esters

• nitramines

• nitrosamines

• inorganic nitrate

• nitro-volatiles

• peroxides

Periodically, the sensing element must be replaced.During operation of the Fido X4, system

diagnostics continually monitor sensor array performance to determine when replacement is

needed.When the system determines that the sensing element must be replaced, simple

prompts are displayed to inform the user. For more information, see "Replacing the Sensing

Element" on p. 53.