Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix will test graphic X-ray screening.
The technology, called backscatter, has been around for several years but has not been widely used in the U.S. as an anti-terrorism tool because of privacy concerns.
The screening system takes X-rays of passenger's bodies to detect concealed explosives and other weapons as illustrated in the photos below.
The Transportation Security Administration said it has found a way to refine the machine's images so that the normally graphic pictures can be blurred in certain areas while still being effective in detecting bombs and other threats.
One machine will be up and running at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix by Christmas.
… the technology will be used initially as a secondary screening measure, meaning that only those passengers who first fail the standard screening process will be directed to the X-ray area.
Even then, passengers will have the option of choosing the backscatter or a traditional pat-down search.
A handful of other U.S. airports will have the X-rays machines in place by early 2007 as part of a nationwide pilot program, TSA officials said.
The technology already is being used in prisons and by drug enforcement agents, and has been tested at London's Heathrow Airport.
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