Do airport scanners detect metal implants?

If you have any metal body implants, be aware that they WILL set off the body scanner (or metal detector if you have precheck) and the TSA Officer WILL need to pat you down (you may either get a full pat down or just a partial pat down where the scanner picks up your metal implant).



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Airport metal detectors are sensitive to metals, including orthopedic metal implants inside your body. The most commonly implanted orthopedic materials include stainless steel, cobalt chrome, and titanium.

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Total shoulder, hip, and knee replacement implants are composed of cobalt-chromium alloys or titanium and are most likely to be detected. Meanwhile, stainless-steel plates, screws, intramedullary nails, wires, and screws are the least likely implants to be detected.

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“Millimeter wave imaging technology does not detect items inside a passenger's body or penetrate the skin,” Langston says. That said, Malvini Redden says body scanners would also not pick up anything else stashed inside a body cavity, such as drugs or hazardous liquids.

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Other things that accidentally set off body scanners are body piercings and wire supports in undergarments. External tumors might also trigger the machine, but growths inside—such as fibroids—will not. “Perspiration is probably the weirdest thing that can set off the scanners,” Malvini Redden says.

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Airport metal detectors are quite sensitive to metals, this includes metal implants that may have been placed inside your body. Belt buckles, key chains, and steel-toed shoes may set off these sensitive metal detectors. Many commonly used orthopedic implants may also set off the metal detectors.

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Currently, there are no regulations in security screening for those who has implants including plates, screws, nails and joint replacement in their body.

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Over 90% of implanted total hip and knee arthroplasty devices will set off airport metal detectors. Many implants now include ceramic and plastic materials in addition to metal, and the metal will still likely cause an alarm in the metal detector.

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We suggest you wait 10–14 days before traveling if you have several dental implants or a more complicated procedure. It just means that there are potential problems that can come up and cause disruption, not that you cannot fly.

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