BILLERICA, Mass., 21 July 2008. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is using American Science and Engineering's (AS&E's) privacy-enhanced SmartCheck Z Backscatter Personnel Screening System will in the TSA's next pilot test of passenger screening systems at John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport.

SmartCheck provides security by safely screening for a wide variety of threats concealed on a passenger, while ensuring their privacy, AS&E officials say. The SmartCheck system creates an image that looks like a chalk outline of the passenger with threats outlined, but does not reveal facial features. Additionally, the SmartCheck systems installed in JFK, LAX, and Phoenix Sky Harbor cannot store, export, print, or transmit images.

"SmartCheck will provide TSA security officers at JFK with a safe, comprehensive method to safeguard air travel, while ensuring travelers' privacy," says Anthony Fabiano, AS&E's president and chief executive officer. "We are pleased with the overwhelming positive passenger response to the system and look forward to our continued work with TSA on this critical mission."

TSA began piloting the SmartCheck system at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in February 2007 for secondary screening, on a voluntary basis, and as an alternative to traditional pat-down searches. In May 2008, TSA launched the second SmartCheck pilot at Los Angeles International Airport. To date, approximately 90 percent of passengers have opted for screening using SmartCheck rather than undergoing a pat-down.

The privacy image provides operators with information to identify the nature and location of any threats, but it will not show revealing images of the screened individual. The system is not capable of storing, exporting, or transmitting images, and all images are automatically deleted from the system immediately after they are reviewed.

TSA has also established a separate location for the security officer to view the images so that the officer never sees the screened passengers.

Since the SmartCheck system uses Z Backscatter X-ray technology; it is safe for both operators and scanned individuals, company officials say. A person passing through the scanner will receive about the same amount of radiation as a person flying for two minutes at an altitude of 30,000 feet, or less than 10 microrem (0.1 microsieverts) per scan. SmartCheck meets the manufacturer's requirements of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard N43.17, which is the standard that the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) references for systems such as SmartCheck.