Do some walkthrough scanners actually use X-rays to screen people?

Yes, some of them are now being used in major international airports. For the person passing through the scanner, the radiation dose is very small, because the person running the scanner does not try to see the details of our "soft" tissues as in medicine. They are looking for items that can easily stand out.

You may have the doubt whether the walk-through metal detectors are safe or not, let us read and see.

This passage is going to talk about the following questions of the security of walk-through metal detectors:

What can the walk-through metal detector detect and is it secure?

Is it safe for people with medical implants to pass through the airport (or office building) metal detector?

Will the radiation exposure of walk-through metal detector affect me?

What can the walk-through metal detector detect and is it secure?

Hijacking and terrorism have caused major changes in security procedures at airports, transportation hubs and other locations. The terrorists were able to take over four passenger planes with only a simple paper cutter in the terrorist 9/11 attack, which shows that although the airport security situation at that time was very tight, it was obviously not tight enough.

The walk-through metal detector is designed to detect metal objects such as guns, knives and tools. If you have ever walked through a metal detector arch at an airport or when entering certain public buildings, you will remember that you are required to put all metal objects in separate trays. If you forget your belt buckle or watch, they are likely to trigger an alarm, prompting the operator to scan your body with a handheld metal detector to determine what triggered the alarm.

The sensitivity of the best security metal detector can be adjusted to avoid false alarms caused by jewelry or small metal objects such as change.

Is it safe for people with medical implants to pass through the airport (or office building) metal detector?

Two papers were published to discuss this. The latest article published by M. Niehaus and his colleagues in 2001 discussed pacemakers and pointed out: “Among 103 patients who were monitored when passing through a typical metal detector, the safety alarm was always activated. Pacemaker function Therefore, patients are advised to note that although the pacemaker can be detected by the airport inspection equipment, it will not adversely affect the equipment. Patients should carry their equipment identification card to obtain security clearance.” According to the conclusion of the article, The patient can pass the metal detector without causing malfunction of the pacemaker or cardioverter defibrillator. For other types of implants, it is best to consult your physician.

Will the radiation exposure of walk-through metal detector affect me?

Metal detectors will not expose you to ionizing radiation such as x-rays; nor will there be a magic wand for personal screening. Metal detectors operate by generating low-intensity magnetic fields that pass from one side of the detector to the other. If a metal object passes through the magnetic field, the magnetic field will induce a second field in the metal object. Since the second field is a destruction of the first field, the detector senses the change and issues an alarm. Magnetic fields are a form of radiation, but they are called "non-ionizing" radiation. This means that the magnetic field does not generate additional destructive radiation like ionizing radiation (such as X-rays). Magnetic fields below a certain strength are considered safe because they will not cause any biological damage to individuals. For reference, MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) is considered safe and uses a much higher magnetic field strength than metal detectors. In short, due to its non-ionizing properties, even under conventional and/or repeated scanning, the magnetic field generated in the metal detector will not cause harm to people.

We hope this article has helped you understand more about the security of walk-through metal detector. If you need walk-through metal detector, do not hesitate to contact us. In addition to walk-through metal detectors, we also produce ETD series of detection devices, such as hand-held metal detectors and dangerous gas detector. If you are interested, please contact us directly.