Dane County Regional Airport is set to introduce full-body scanners installed as an addition to the current security equipment.

Brent McHenry, spokesperson for the airport, said the change is a general policy being implemented by the Transportation Security Administration across the nation. The change will come to Dane County Feb. 16.

According to the TSA website, the Advanced Imagining Technology has been implemented in many airports nationwide since 2007.

McHenry said the TSA began installing AIT in larger airports and is now moving to medium-sized or smaller airports.

Dane County Regional Airport is one of these, with around 1.5 million passengers flowing through per year, McHenry said, making it one of the large airports in Wisconsin.

He said the technology is more fail-safe than the average metal detector because it gives more information to the TSA screener.

“Any time technology can be added to a situation, it’s going to improve not only efficiency but security,” McHenry said.

He said he is not sure how TSA selects which airports receive AIT, but in Dane County, the decision stemmed from the volume of passengers. Installation depends on when the machines arrive and when staff and training are available to install them.

McHenry said the airport will have two AIT machines, one at each security checkpoint.

“This is a positive step in improving airport security,” McHenry said. “Because of the changes in technology, it is no longer an invasion of privacy.”

He said the new technology will only show whether a person scans as “OK” or “not OK,” to TSA security. He said there are no body outlines or body parts shown, as this has been a concern among nationwide airport patrons in the past.

The TSA website said the imaging technology shows only the generic outline of a person, highlighting if something needs closer inspection. If there is nothing wrong, only an “OK” appears on the screen.

McHenry also said it is important to many people to know that the levels of scanning in AIT are very low and do not pose a health risk to those walking through the machines.

According to the TSA website, AIT uses millimeter wave and backscatter imaging technology, which has been approved by the Food and Drug Administrations. The American National Standards Institute has also approved the levels of exposure.

He said he does not expect passengers to have any problems with the new technology.

“People will embrace it because it speeds up the screening process and is more user-friendly to the passenger,” McHenry said.

He also said passengers are free to opt out of the AIT scan and can be alternatively scanned by a pat down by an officer of the same sex.

As for other regional airports implementing AIT machines, McHenry said the Outagamie Regional Airport of Appleton has already received the new machinery, and others will likely receive it soon.

“I think it is important to stress that this is an important safety measure in our airport,” McHenry said.

As this article was originally published on February 13, 2012, the airport scanners were referred to as X-ray scanners. They should have been referred to as “full-body scanners” only, and the article has been edited to reflect those changes. We regret the error.