Introduction to Medical
Diagnostic Imaging
Dep. Biomedical Engineering - SET
Introduction of Diagnostic Imaging
Ø Diagnostic imaging refers to technology that looks inside
the body to help determine the causes of an injury or
illness and ensure that a diagnosis is accurate.
Ø Medical Imaging Techniques :
• Radiography using X ray machine.
• Computed Tomography using CT-Scanner.
• Diagnostic sonography.
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging System – MRI.
Definition of Radiography
Ø Radiography is a diagnostic imaging method that uses
ionizing radiation to produce an image. X-rays are a form
of electromagnetic radiation (light), but they are of higher
energy and can penetrate the body. Structures that are
dense (such as bone) will stop or absorb the applied X-
rays, creating a white image on the radiograph. Less
dense structures will appear darker on an X-ray.
Radiography can look at various body parts, including:
• Bones
• Gastrointestinal Tract (Upper GI and Barium enema)
• Genitourinary Tract (IVP or Intravenous Pyelogram)
• Lungs (chest x-ray)
The Development of
Radiology
A brief history
Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen, Ph. D
Ø Born March 27, 1845
Ø Died February 10, 1923
Ø The father of modern
radiography.
Ø Won the Nobel Prize for
Physics in 1901
History
Ø Like Chiropractic, X-ray was discovered in 1895.
Ø One November 8, 1895, Dr. Wilhelm Roentgen in Germany
was experimenting with a Crookes or cathode ray tube.
Ø The room was dark and the tube was enclosed with black
photographic paper.
History
Ø On a table next to the tube was a plate coated with barium
platinocynide a fluorescent material.
Ø Dr. Roentgen observed that when the Crookes tube was
on, the fluorescent material luminated regardless of how
far the plate was from the tube.
Ø He placed various materials between the tube and the
plate. The X-light easily penetrated cardboard, books,
wood and cloth.
Ø He had more trouble penetrating metals with the densest
being opaque.
History
Ø When he placed his hand near the plate, he discovered that
skin was almost transparent while bone was fairly opaque.
Ø In his experiments, he discovered many of the principles that
we use today.
Ø The discovery of X-ray was basically an accident.
The first x-ray image
Ø The first human radiograph
was taken of Mrs. Roentgen.
The image is the first x-ray
image ever taken. It shows
Mrs. Röntgen’s hand and
wedding ring.
Ø It was a 15 minute exposure.
Ø Early x-rays were taken on
glass photographic plates
The Development of Modern
Radiography
Early X-ray Machine
Ø First U.S. X-ray exam
on Feb. 3, 1896 was a
wrist x-ray taken at
Dartmouth College.
Ø The maximum power
was 50 kV or 50,000
volts and low mA.
The Development of Modern
Radiography
Ø Coil and battery type X-
ray machine used in the
Spanish American War
of 1898.
Ø A series of batteries
provided DC power to a
coil. Operating cost
$0.11 per hour.
Ø A motor produced DC
power for the x-ray tube.
The Development of Modern
Radiography
Ø This was the recommended design of an early x-ray room.
Ø The operator had to watch the glow of the tube and adjust
power during the exposure.
In 1903, Great
Ormond Street
Hospital acquired
its first X-ray
machine and
opened its first
Radiography Unit
#GOSHistory
The Development of Modern
Radiography
Ø Lead was placed
between the tube
and the operator.
Ø A mirror was used
to observe the
patient and tube.
Ø To test the
machine, the
operator x-rayed
their forearm.
The Development of Modern
Radiography
Ø If they could see a
button through the
radius, it was operating
properly.
Ø Another test was to see
a watch through the
patient’s skull with
fluoroscopy.
In this picture, a man receives a
chest X-ray at Professor
Menard's radiology department at
the Cochin hospital, Paris, 1914.
(Jacques Boyer/Roger Viollet/Getty
Images)
The Development of Modern
Radiography
Ø 1896 First medical applications of x-ray in diagnosis &
therapy.
Ø 1905 Einstein introduced his theory of relativity
Ø 1907 Snook interrupterless transformer to make high
voltage. The capabilities of the transformer exceeded
the capacity of Crookes tubes.
Development of Modern Radiography
Ø 1913 Bohr theorizes his model of the atom.
Ø 1913 The Crookes cathode ray tube was replaced by
Coolidge hot cathode tube.
Ø 1913 Dr. Gustave Bucky built the first grid.
Ø 1918 Double emulsion film by Kodak.
Ø 1920 Dr. Hollis Potter put a Grid in a moving cabinet to
remove grid lines.
Development of Modern Radiography
Ø 1922 Compton describes scattering of x-rays
Ø 1928 The roentgen is defined as the unit of
measurement of x-ray intensity.
Ø 1929 Rotating anode x-ray tube introduced.
Ø 1930 Tomography is demonstrated by several
investigators.
10 EARLY X-RAY MACHINES THAT LOOKED
LIKE SUPER VILLAIN WEAPONS
Ref: https://coach.nine.com.au/latest/vintage-xray-machines/
41736461-7154-4e04-8a4e-fb2026db4504#6
Ø After six weeks of discovering X rays,
Roentgen finally developed a way he
could could capture the images these
rays were creating by placing
photographic film between the X-rays
cathode and a fluorescent screen.
Ø He then instructed his wife to place her
hand between layers of film and took
the world's first ever X-ray, which he
telegrammed to his colleagues.
Curiously, she would have suffered
from a radiation dose that is 1500
times more than your average X-ray
today.
Ø In this picture, a man receives a chest
X-ray at Professor Menard's radiology
department at the Cochin hospital,
Paris, 1914.
Ø (Jacques Boyer/Roger Viollet/Getty
Images)
Ø It took just weeks for
Roentgen's discovery to make
waves throughout the medical
and scientific world.
Ø In the years to come,
everybody from doctors to
circus owners would purchase
X-ray machines to show people
the magical photographs that
saw through your skin.
Ø In this picture, you can see the
Roentgen "look through"
machine, which was a pivoting
X-ray that circulated the patient.
Ø (Underwood Archives/Getty
Images)
Ø In this picture, two Californian
professors stand at the control
board of the world's largest X-
ray machine in 1930.
(Underwood Archives/Getty
Images)
Ø X-ray technology was quickly identified as being of great
importance to dentists, who could see the patients teeth and
jaw above the gum line. Here, a man demonstrates a new X-
ray machine in London, 1932.
Ø (Imagno/Getty Images)
Ø A woman in Brazil has her chest examined through an
X-ray machine to detect lung diseases in 1937.
Ø (Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone/Getty Images)
Ø A radiologist wears a protective face mask to shield
himself from harmful radiation when taking an X-ray of a
woman in 1934.
(Imagno/Getty Images)
Ø An X-ray is taken of a middle-aged woman at
Batholomew's Hospital in London during the 1930s. To
minimise the effects of radiation poisoning, early X-ray
machines were often coated in lead, leading to their
enormous size.
(Daily Herald/Getty Images)
Ø During WWII X-rays had become small enough that
they could be transported and used to assist those
injured in battle. Here, a US soldier is attended to in
1943.
(US Army Signal Corps/Getty Images)
Ø Medical
interns inspect
a man's chest
X-ray as it
happens in
1952.
(Walter
Nurnberg/Getty
Images)
In this picture, a
doctor directs a
two million volt
deep therapy X-
ray machine
towards a cancer
patient at Francis
Delafield Hospital
in New York City.
(Grundy/Getty
Images)
Ø A doctor inspects a
woman's throat using a
two million volt deep
therapy X-ray machine.
This machine was used
to give localised
treatment to cancerous
areas in the 1960s.
(Douglas Grundy/Three
Lions/Getty Images)
The X-Ray Tube Development
Ø Dr. Roentgen used a
Crookes-Hittorf tube to
make the first x-ray image
(1896).
Ø Note that there is no
shielding around the tube.
Crookes-Hittorf tube to make the
first x-ray image
The X-Ray Tube Development
Crookes X-ray tube from early 1900s. The cathode is on
the right, the anode is in the center with attached heat
sink at left. The electrode at the 10 o'clock position is the
anticathode. The device at top is a 'softener' used to
regulate the gas pressure.
The X-Ray Tube Development
Ø Coolidge X-ray tube, from around 1917. The
heated cathode is on the left, and the anode is
right. The X-rays are emitted downwards.
Ø The Coolidge tube was still available.
The X-Ray Tube Development
Ø The Coolidge Hot
cathode tube was a
major advancement in
tube design.
Ø The radiator at the
end of the anode cool
the anode.
The X-Ray Tube Development
Ø Two major hazards plagued early
radiography.
üExcessive radiation exposure
üElectric Shock
Development of Modern Radiography
Ø 1942 Morgan exhibits the first electronic
phototimer.
Ø 1942 First automatic film processor
Ø 1948 First fluoroscopic image intensifier.
Ø 1953 Rad is officially adopted as the unit of
absorbed dose.
Development of Modern Radiography
Ø 1956 First automatic roller transport film processor
introduced by Kodak
Ø 1963 Single photon emission computed tomography
demonstrated.
Ø 1965 Ninety second film processor introduced.
Development of Modern Radiography
Ø 1966 Diagnostic ultrasound enters routine use.
Ø 1972 Rare earth radiographic intensifying
screen are introduced.
Ø 1973 Hounsfield completes development of the
first computed tomography (CT) scanner (EMI)
Development of Modern Radiography
Ø 1973 Damadian and Lauterbur produce the first
magnetic resonance image (MRI)
Ø 1980 First superconductor MR imager introduced
Ø 1981 The International System of Units (SI) is adopted
by the ICRU
Ø 1983 First tabular grain film emulsion
Ø 1984 Laser stimulable phosphors for direct digital
radiographs appear.
