Excruciating pain on the way for Katrina survivors.

American Technology is donating four devices -- three MRADs (medium-range acoustic devices) and one LRAD (long-range acoustic device). The four devices will be shipped out Friday to a Marine military police unit that is deploying to the Gulf States area for disaster-relief efforts.

"We are donating the use of one of our most powerful prototypes, LTPMS-2, for use in Mississippi as soon as possible, because the governor of that state said that the biggest problem they have right now is the fact that they have no communications infrastructure to get information or instructions out to people," he said. "They can very easily put this on a truck and send sound out for a minimum of at least a mile in either direction."

When a subject is at close range in MAD´s sonic path, and it is set to high volume, the sound can be excruciating.

Vehicle-mounted devices were used by Israeli authorities to scatter groups earlier this year, when Palestinians and Jewish supporters gathered to protest Israel's West Bank separation barrier. Dubbed "The Scream" by the Israeli Army, the device sends out streams of noise in intervals of about 10 seconds. The specific sonic frequencies chosen affect the inner ear, creating dizziness and nausea in human targets.

In a report, AP quoted an unnamed Israeli military official as saying the device emits a frequency that targets the inner ear, can cause damage with exposure for several minutes at close range, and compels humans nearby to leave the area. Exposure for minutes at close range could cause hearing damage. Information about longer-term exposure effects at long distances has not been publicly disclosed.