title: Detection of orthopaedic prostheses at airport security checks.
abstract: We studied the detection of joint replacements at airport security checks in relation to their weight, using two types of detector arch. A single-source, unilateral detector showed different sensitivities for implants on different sides of a test subject. All implants weighing more than 145 g were detected by one of the arches. The degree of detection was directly related to the logarithm of the weight of the prosthesis in patients, with a linear correlation (r2 = 0.61). A bilateral arch detected all prostheses weighing over 195 g. With their usual sensitivity settings many joint replacements were detectable; an identification pass containing the site and weight of such prostheses would help to avoid the need for body-search procedures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, University of Vienna, Wien, Austria.
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Grohs
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gottsauner-Wolf
mesh_terms: D000497:Alloys; D001317:Austria; D001359:Aviation; D006801:Humans; D007595:Joint Prosthesis; D012637:Security Measures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D000497:Alloys