An assessment of current x-ray technology finds that modern machines can deliver medically safe doses of radiation to prisoners and their visitors on a routine basis. An analysis of the constitutional challenges likely to be encountered by those seeking to implement x-ray searches in prisons focuses on the privacy issue. The case law examined concerns searches at U.S. borders, in airports, and in prisons by means other than x-ray. The courts' willingness to permit extensive privacy invasions (including body cavity searches of inmates) when important government interests are involved leads the author to conclude that the use of low-level radiation to search prisoners and their contact visitors is constitutional. A total of 168 footnotes are provided.