Multipoint method for identifying hazardous agents

A method of assessing the occurrence of a hazardous agent in a sample located in a field of view, the method comprising:

• irradiating said sample to thereby generate a first plurality of interacted photons from a first set of multiple points in the sample, wherein
• said first plurality of interacted photons are selected from the group consisting of:
• photons absorbed by said multiple points, photons reflected by said multiple points, photons emitted by said multiple points, and combinations thereof, and
• wherein said first set of multiple points represent a portion of total points in the field of view;
• assessing said first plurality of interacted photons to thereby generate a first spectroscopic data set representative of said sample;
• and
• analyzing said first spectroscopic data set to thereby determine at least one of:
• the presence of a hazardous agent in said sample and the absence of a hazardous agent in said sample.

A device for assessing the occurrence of a hazardous agent in a sample, the device comprising:

• a radiation source for irradiating said sample;
• a detector for simultaneously detecting a first plurality of interacted photons from multiple discrete portions of said sample;
• and
• a controller operably linked to said detector for restricting detection of said first plurality of interacted photons to the multiple discrete portions of said sample.