Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, today announced the latest software and library updates for FirstDefender®, the award-winning, field-proven handheld Raman instrument for identification of solid and liquid chemicals. The FirstDefender v2.7 software update includes a larger substance library, multiple language configurations and an enhanced user interface.
FirstDefender is a lightweight, rugged Raman instrument used for rapid identification of unknown solids and liquids, including narcotics, toxic industrial materials (TIMs), explosives and white powders. With this latest release, the company expands the product’s chemical library to more than 10,000 pure substances, which includes updates in all chemical categories and support for millions of mixture possibilities.
As with all Thermo Scientific instruments formerly sold under the Ahura Scientific brand, the FirstDefender library is specifically developed and optimized for the product’s sophisticated software algorithms. By managing library development internally and adding only the highest-quality spectra, the instrument enables accurate material identification with automatic mixture analysis, reducing reliance on spectral subtraction and subjective evaluation.
FirstDefender v2.7 also includes updates to the full language configurations for German, French, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese. This capability continues to open the door to greater instrument adoption in vital regions around the globe. Among user interface enhancements, FirstDefender v2.7 automatically displays a molecular signal meter during scans, providing additional real-time information critical to helping first responders obtain fast, accurate results.
“First responders, hazmat teams, military organizations and law enforcement personnel rely on FirstDefender to rapidly and accurately analyze threats in the field,” said Doug Kahn, vice president and general manager of Thermo Scientific’s portable optical analysis business. “This software update is part of our commitment to ensuring our customers around the globe have access to the latest technology to identify emerging chemical threats.”
In addition to continuing support for the flagship FirstDefender, the company recently announced its next-generation Raman instruments, FirstDefender RM and FirstDefender RMX. All products in the FirstDefender family include advanced chemometrics, automatic mixture analysis and MIL-STD 810F certification for ruggedness.
The FirstDefender v2.7 software package is now available to all former Ahura Scientific customers with active support contracts, which include software and library updates, hardware warranty and 24/7 customer support by the company’s technical team.