Handheld X-Ray Backscatter Technology
Abstract:
As part of the Coast Guards drug interdiction missions, boarding teams are required to search suspicious vessels for hidden drugs and contraband. The boarding officers and their teams are in a constant battle against drug smugglers who find creative new ways to hide drugs. X-ray technology has been successfully employed at land-based border crossings for years but the large machinery and cumbersome design of traditional x-ray imagers precluded its application for ship-based boarding crews. Boarding teams currently rely on: ion scanners that analyze a sample of air for traces of various substances; borescopes (tiny cameras on flexible rods which are inserted into a small hole created by the boarding officer); and their own instinct and experience.