Detroit television news story on Advanced Photonix airport scanning capacity

http://www.clickondetroit.com/video/22278105/
(note you may need to copy and paste this link into your browser)
Below is a short summary posted of the story, but please take the time
to watch the video, it's really good and perhaps someone can send it to
a national news show.

Local Company Has Solution To Airport Body Scanners
POSTED: Tuesday, January 19, 2010
UPDATED: 3:49 pm EST January 19, 2010
Picometrix is working on a new type of body scan that may solve the battle between security and privacy with regard to body scanners at airport security checkpoints.
For 15 years, they have used terahertz wave technology for customers like NASA to scan shuttle tiles and seals for flaws.
This week, Picometrix, of Ann Arbor, landed a contract to scan the U.S. Air Force's F-35 Lightning II fighter jets for structural integrity. This is a multi-million dollar contract.
A terahertz scan can identify the makeup of a material, whether it's the metal of a gun, or the chemical signature of PETN, which is the chemical explosive that authorities said terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab used in his Christmas Day bombing attempt.
Current scanners produce a high-definition image of travelers, which some see as an invasion of privacy. The ability of terahertz waves to identify material without the use of detailed images could provide the necessary compromise.
Each substance, from metal to chemicals, has a signature that can be stored in a database. A traveler carrying a substance on the threat list will trigger an alarm when scanned.
There have been claims that terahertz waves are damaging to human DNA. Not true says IRL DULING/ PicoMetrix. The light waves are similar to infrared or microwaves, and the terahertz scanner puts out wave equivalent to a light bulb, and thus poses no threat to humans.
The technology exists now, but it's up to the Transportation Safety Administration when we might see it in airports.
http://www.clickondetroit.com/seenon4/22275268/detail.html