Local tech company donates portable x-ray machine to bomb squad

Three minutes is all it will take for the Brown and Outagamie County's bomb squad to decide whether a package is safe thanks to a local tech companies donation.

At an event Tuesday night, SharpLogixx gave the bomb squad a portable digital x-ray system, which will make their job and the public more safe.

With some big events coming up, like Billy Joel at Lambeau Field this weekend, Brown County Lt. Christopher Knurr said event safety is a top priority and that includes checking people's bags.

“In today's society we have a lot of unattended baggage and a lot of bombing at large scale events where it's important now to be able to make a determination quickly on a package and move onto the next one,” said Lt. Knurr.

Right now, Lt. Knurr said it takes them about 15 minutes to x-ray a package to determine its safety, but a new donation from SharpLogixx in Green Bay will cut that time down to three minutes

“You hear all the stories of how they are using it and the risks they take. So every day we get to make something that helps somebody be safe, it's a really cool thing,” said Kevin Scholz, CEO of SharpLogixx.

The portable, extreme digital x-ray system will allow the bomb squad to be more mobile, while being quick and discrete.

“It’s so small someone can be holding it on their back, someone else can be pulling it out and set it down, and be checking bags without a whole lot of people realizing what happening,” said Robin Pfaff, COO of SharpLogixx.

It works by using an x-ray generator, x-ray detector and computer. The generator sends a pulse through an object hitting the detector, which then sends an image to the computer allowing authorities to quickly determine what is in the bag and whether it is a threat.

“The faster we can get it, the safer we are and the safer the public is too,” said Lt. Knurr.

The new device has already been used. Officials took it Appleton’s Pride Parade last week and it will continue to be used at big events, especially Packers games.