Jeepers Peepers

Have the "eyes of medicine" become the "eyes of security"? It would seem so, if you read the Associated Press article in today's paper. An X-ray security scanner designed to detect weapons through a person's clothing is causing quite a controversy. This comes to no surprise to this X-ray technologist but not for the privacy concerns described. Sure, you can often see delicate anatomical details on an X-ray image that you wouldn't want most strangers to see. The real issue to me is the practicality of it. Consider the "simple" case of trying to determine if your kid's Halloween candy is sabotaged or not. Look at this simulated set of three x-rays. Each shows an object from a different perspective in two dimensions. Would you be able to guess from the top image that you're looking at a lollipop? In your mind, overlay this with other pieces of candy and you can imagine the task at hand. Now, think of an airport security situation where you'll be instructed to turn sideways for additional images to be analyzed. I hope the security officer is well trained. I'm skeptical but it would sure beat a cavity search!