Advances in Imaging from the first X-Ray Images

Abstract

X-rays as well as other forms of radiation continue to play a crucial role in medical and experimental science. Thanks the development of sophisticated computer technology, it is now possible to combine thousands of 2D X-ray slices into a 3D image for greater accuracy in pinpointing the location of tumors, bone breaks, and other internal ailments of the human body. X-rays are also widely used outside of the medical field. The wavelength of X-rays is comparable to the size of atoms. Therefore, they are ideally suited for probing the structural arrangement of atoms and molecules in a wide range of materials. The sections of this review are presented in a logical order beginning with the discovery of X-rays, followed by selected experimental details, with the final sections covering diagnostic radiology physics and other, non-medical, applications. Roentgens story is widely known, but peoples who helped lay radiology’s foundations remain essentially anonymous, especially to younger physicists and physicians.