A method for organic/inorganic differentiation using an x‐ray forward/backscatter personnel scanner

A method is proposed for performing organic/inorganic materials discrimination using an x‐ray forward/backscatter scanner. The method is demonstrated using a commercially available personnel security‐screening system and requires only image post processing. The method relies upon x‐ray interaction physics, and the exact registration of forward‐ and backscattered images, permitting reliable discrimination between low and high atomic number materials over a range of thicknesses. The materials information is used to colorize images, and examples of the results are given. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.