Australia Tests Radiation Free Body Scanners

Now that the whole "nudie pic" situation has been cleared up, it seems the main concern surrounding airport body scanners is the radiation they emit.

But, at airports in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, tests were run in July on scanners that emit no radiation, reports the BBC. Instead, the T8000, developed by UK-based ThruVision Systems, uses a "passive" screening technology.

According to the company's website, whereas other scanners emit X-rays and "active" radiation, ThruVision's scanners do not "illuminate" people with X-rays, radiation or millimeter waves. Instead, they receive terahertz waves naturally produced by objects and people. When a concealed object blocks those waves, it appears as an anomaly.

And, regarding those invasive images, the T8000 doesn't capture or display intimate body details.

ThruVision's Director of International Business Development, Ron Frye, told the BBC that the scanner successfully spotted contraband on test subjects, though Australian authorities have not yet decided to permanently implement the T8000.

ThruVision is also being used in Bermuda. Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are considering using the company's scanners.

Let's hope these aren't the ones that were being set off by passengers' perspiration.