PARIS — Oxford County Commissioners heard a presentation from Tek84 about a whole body scanner that can be used to check people trying to smuggle items into jail.

The Oxford County Jail has been closed since February for HVAC upgrades, but the commissioners are considering the purchase of the body scanner for future use using a congressional grant that has been earmarked for the equipment, Executive Assistant Abby Shanor said during the Aug. 20 meeting.

Tek84 is a Poway, Calif.-based security company that developed the world’s first body scanner in 1991. Wayne Horvath hosted the presentation and explained how the Tek84 Interceptor is superior to typical x-ray scanners which have fixed beams on the machine and require a person to move through the machine.

The Intercept has moving beams which eliminate a lot of image distortion associated with traditional scanners, Horvath said. The Intercept is able to find any kind of item that may be hidden on someone’s person or even inside a body cavity, such as currency and drugs, two items commonly smuggled into correctional facilities. This makes the machine superior to metal detectors and a standard pat down.

“These don’t really deal with the challenges we’re faced with when it comes to corrections applications,” Horvath said. “Metal detection is only going to detect metal and pat downs and visuals, you’re only looking for things on the body.”

The machine also has an ultra-small footprint, is easy to install, being almost “plug-and-play,” includes a 27-inch touchscreen monitor on wheels and an embedded scanner and temperature scanner, and is 100% made in the United States and American-owned, Horvath said.

The Intercept is now used by several government agencies, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

In Maine, Tek84 has products in the Aroostook, Androscoggin, York, Knox, Penobscot, and Two Bridges Regional Jail.

“The Intercept has now become the body scanner of choice,” Horvath said.

The Oxford County Commissioners will hold budget committee caucuses in various locations across the county at 6 p.m. Aug. 28. Commissioners will next meet for a workshop at 9 a.m. Sept. 5.