Bill Lozon may not be pulling bodies from the wreckage from the devastating earthquake that rocked China recently, but he and his company will have a hand into the recovery efforts in the aftermath of the natural disaster.

Lozon, the vice president for sales and marketing for the Salem branch of UltraVision Security Systems Inc., flew to the Far East with his company’s Lifelocator system to train rescue workers how to best put it to use.

A sensor is placed upon piles of debris, and the system contains a sensor that can penetrate through solid materials in search of survivors, preventing rescuers from blindly searching for bodies.

“It’s the world’s best motion detector. If a trapped person can shift in some way, we see them instantaneously,” said Lozon. “As long as the person is able to breathe, we’re able to see the rise and fall of the chest cavity.”

Lozon frequently travels the world for business, as he was when the earthquake struck.

“When the earthquake hit, I was in England at a trade show and got a call within 24 to 48 hours telling us that our equipment was being used and being used successfully,” Lozon said.

When disasters such as the earthquake in China strike, Lozon assists, but without being able to do so firsthand.

“I won’t be going to China so much to assist, but to do a debriefing and where do we go from here,” he said. “I’m not going to start climbing along in collapsed buildings, but it’s to meet with the rescue workers who actually use the equipment and learn from their experiences – what worked well, and what didn’t that we could use in the future.”

UltraVision has been working with the technology for about 35 years, beginning with its parent company that used it to measure the depth of concrete. The technology is also used in forensic investigations.

According to Lozon, the company has been able to perfect the technology as well as any company using it.

“What we’ve done so dramatically and differently is that instead of looking for solid objects, we look for motion,” he said. “Because we’ve been doing it for 35 years, we’re really, really good at it. We’re just about the only ones in the world who do this right now.”

Upon arriving in Beijing and traveling to the Sichuan province to brief rescue workers, Lozon said he knows the satisfaction he and his company will have.

“I think it is very difficult to describe. It extends through everyone in our corporation,” Lozon said. “It’s the search-and-rescue side of our business that gives you the warm fuzzy satisfaction to know it saves lives. It helps victims and also rescuers safely.”