Someone I work with sometimes (we are building him an x-ray
spectrometer for assaying precious metals) has become involved in a new
x-ray gadget. It is a handheld dental x-ray machine that looks sorta
like a large cordless drill. In fact, the prototype I saw uses a
rechargeable DeWalt drill battery. Basically, you put a CCD imaging
detector in the mouth and aim it and pull the trigger and it stores the
images like a digital camera.
When the Tsunami hit, they took their only working prototype there to
be used to take instant dental x-rays for ID purposes on cadavers.
People in New Orleans are saying that some bodies may never be
identified. I think this gadget will be useful in New Orleans too.