Above: AS&E's SmartCheck - the screener (left)
detection, but you cannot tell whether Backscatter X-ray cannot see the passenger being screened (right) and
the subject is male or female. Image quality is the key selling point of the privacy image displayed shows an outline of the
The latest product using active the backscatter X-ray solutions in the individual with threat items superimposed.
millimetre wave imaging comes out of form of Rapiscan’s Secure 1000 and Bottom left: Smiths Detection's millimetre wave
the Smiths Detection stable in the form AS&E’s SmartCheck which both use solution is the eqo.
of the eqo. Appearing more like the ultra low dose X-ray sources.
traditional archway detector, it offers AS&E has endeavoured to fine tune flying for two minutes at an altitude of
detection capability within a minimal their solution so that the passenger 30,000 feet (9,200 meters), or less than
footprint, enabling integration into need not have to rotate and AS&E’s 10 microrem (0.1 microsieverts) per scan.
existing checkpoints relatively easily. SmartCheck™ HT (high throughput) The International Commission on
Trials of the systems are underway in the provides simultaneous front and back Radiological Protection recommends
United States, Canada and in Europe. scans of an individual. Also, in addressing that the dose from a system such as
The main concern about all millimetre privacy concerns, SmartCheck’s privacy SmartCheck not exceed 1 millisievert
wave solutions relates to the image image provides operators with information (0.1 rem) per year. At less than 0.1
quality. Whilst they probably would have to identify the nature and location of any microsieverts per scan, it would require
identified the wooden stakes that David threats, but it will not show revealing more than 10,000 SmartCheck scans in
Robinson concealed in the lining of his images of the screened individual. The one year to reach 1 millisievert (0.1 rem).
jacket when he attempted to hijack a privacy image shows an outline of the Granted the concealment method
Qantas flight, en route to Tasmania, passenger and outlines any potential used by Abdulmutallab, with a relatively
in 2003, it is far from certain that threats on the person, and looks more like small quantity of explosives, devoid of
Abdulmutallab’s device would have been a chalk drawing than a real person. the traditional component parts of an
identified using this approach, given the As with the millimetre wave systems, for improvised explosive device, concealed
quantity of explosives concealed and added privacy to the passenger, image in the groin area, image quality may
the location of the secretion. analysis is done remotely, out of sight be more important than pandering to
of the scanned passenger, the system unwarranted health concerns.
is not capable of storing, exporting, or
transmitting images, and all images are “
...using backscatter
automatically deleted from the system
immediately after they are reviewed. X-ray, a scanned
Whilst the image quality is better, the
introduction of X-rays, even low dosage, individual will receive
causes understandable concern and one
of the challenges we face as an industry about the same amount
is to educate the general public as to
just how safe they really are. of radiation as a person
According to AS&E, since their
SmartCheck system uses Z Backscatter™ flying for two minutes
X-ray technology, it is safe for both
operators and scanned individuals. A at an altitude of 30,000
scanned individual will receive about the
same amount of radiation as a person feet...”
February 2010 Aviationsecurityinternational
www.asi-mag.com 15
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