New body scanner debuts, promises privacy

Xinhua, April 22, 2011

China's newly-developed body scanner with independent Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) made its debut Thursday, promising to quickly detect nonmetal, destructive objects while better protecting privacy.

The security check equipment, which was developed by a group of experts mostly from Beijing's Tsinghua University, is being exhibited during the Fourth China International Security Inspection & Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Technology Seminar running from Wednesday to Thursday in Shenzhen, a city in south China's Guangdong Province.

The equipment was developed to quickly detect nonmetal, destructive objects prohibited by law, and only the United States can manufacture similar products, according to the manufacturer, Tianjin Chongfang Science and Technology Company.

Jia Zhong, general manager of the company, said that the body scanner uses an anti-scattering X-ray mechanism to detect nonmetal objects such as ceramic knives, explosives, drugs, plastic weapons and liquid bombs.

However, unlike those produced in the U.S., this scanner can detect prohibited objects while also guarding people's privacy, he said.

"The body scanner can also protect the privacy of ordinary people and automatically delete their personal information," said Jia. "It has a competitive export price, as well."

According to Jia, precisely locating prohibited objects in a fasting-moving mix of crowds, luggage and cargo has been a perennial technological headache globally.

Furthermore, the X-ray radiation emitted by the scanner is negligible, amounting to about one-thirty-sixth of the radiation a passenger is exposed to when travelling by air from Beijing to Shanghai.

The manufacturer plans to roll out 1000 body scanners annually for use in various arenas, including drug-enforcement, civil airports, railway stations and at customs.