Thaindian News

Washington, Nov 20 (ANI): If you thought airport scanners could detect only explosives or liquids, be prepared to be embarrassed.

Dr. Kristin Byrne, a radiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, what TSA scanners can learn about your health history by just passing through the security line.

“The airport scanners show anything on the surface of the skin and very closely under the skin,” Fox News quoted Byrne as saying.

This means any foreign objects close to the skin, including piercings, catheters, and colostomy bags, will be visible to TSA employees.

Breast implants and prosthetic testicles will also be easily recognizable on the scanner screen.

What’s more, the X-ray technology can also tell if a man is circumcised or not, although Byrne said the scanners are supposed to be designed to avoid that.

“Privacy algorithms software is used to create a blur effect that blurs out facial features and genital areas as they come up,” she said.

“Although I don’t know if all the scanners are using them.”

There are rumours that they can reveal tampons, diaphragms, intrauterine devices and even penile implants, but Byrne dismissed those.

“The type of scanner used at the airport doesn’t have the high frequency waves needed to see deep enough inside your body to detect those things,” she said. (ANI)