An NQR scanner for detecting the presence of a substance containing quadrupole nuclei within an object. A pulse generating means (1) generates pulse sequences that are used to irradiate the object in a pulsed magnetic field at a requisite NQR frequency for the substance to be detected. A high power RF transmit amplifier (2) amplifies the signal to produce sufficient magnetic field strength to irradiate a scan volume within which the object is disposed for detection purposes and cause an NQR transition to a detectable level within the substance if present within the object. A method for detecting the presence of a substance containing quadrupole nuclei within an object is also described