While security x-ray scanners are used to detect potentially hazardous materials, they aren’t medical diagnostic equipment. While they are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has stricter regulations regarding x-ray products. It is important to note that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency both regulate the amount of radiation these products emit. To find out more about the advantages of security x-ray scanners, you can visit Astrophysics, Inc.’s blog, which offers thought-provoking articles on the technology.
Security x-ray scanners come in two types: single-view and dual-view. Single-view scanners are the least expensive and fastest. But they tend to leave large blind spots in the images, which defeats their advantage in speed. Dual-view scanners are twice as expensive than single-view models, but don’t require re-scanning and can be used in many security scenarios.
Different materials appear differently on a security x-ray image. For example, organic materials are orange, while inorganic materials are blue. Higher-bit imaging allows security personnel to distinguish between different objects and identify threats easily. This feature is especially useful for scanning luggage, because it helps security operators distinguish between different objects. The high-quality images can be stored in up to 50,000 scan files. So, a security x-ray scanner can detect many threats without the help of a trained human operator.
The US Marshal Service says it is monitoring the effectiveness of security x-ray scanners and isn’t going to deploy these machines in airports until they can prove their efficacy. However, the US Marshal service notes that only humans involved in these tests are recorded. It’s unclear whether or not the new devices will be put into production, but the US Marshal service is reportedly complaining about their resolution limitations and has yet to put them into practice.