Researchers create implanted bomb detector

A University of Oklahoma professor and Edmond police detective have created a device able to detect bombs surgically implanted into a person's body. The device uses X-ray technology to create a negative image of the body and any potential bomb inside it, The Oklahoman reported Friday. Detective Marion Cain worked with Isaac Rutel, an assistant professor in the department of radiological sciences at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, to determine the right amount of X-rays needed to detect a bomb without giving someone radiation poisoning or sickness. The two found it was possible to detect implanted explosives using X-ray levels commonly used for medical purposes, Rutel said. "We found them to be consistent with some fairly common types of routines you might see in medical imaging," Rutel said. Though the device Cain and Rutel made is ready to be used by any bomb squad, they said they are unaware of any instances of it being used in the field.