Security Scanner is the generic term used for a technology that is capable of detecting objects carried under clothes. Several forms of radiation differing in wavelength and energy emitted are used in order to identify any object distinct from the human skin. In aviation Security Scanners could replace walk-through metal detectors (capable of detecting most knives or arms) as means of screening passengers because they are able to identify metallic and non-metallic objects including plastic and liquid explosives.
When a Security Scanner clears a person, in principle no further searches or screens are necessary. Today walk-through metal detectors' weakness in identifying non-metallic items require screeners to undertake full body hand searches in order to achieve comparable results, as was demonstrated on 25 December 2009, when a passenger attempted to blow up Northwest Airlines flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit with explosives hidden on his body.
Security Scanners are controversial, in both their need to expose passengers to radiation, and their ability to see the body form under clothing, and the European Commission has reported on this issue to the European Parliament. To access the full report, go to:
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air/security/doc/com2010_311_security_scanners_en.pdf
