THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBING
In the quest to provide deeper, clearer images of the human body, medical imaging marches forward like Star Trek.
FREMONT, CA: The physician can see the cells in your heart directly, examine their activity in real time, and notify you of the precise pathophysiology of your condition and the appropriate treatment. This may sound like a scene from Star Trek. Still, more than 400 years of scientific progress indicate that this is where medical imaging is headed and that incredible and novel imaging technologies are on the horizon.
Medical imaging is not yet at the level of tricorders, but since the invention of the microscope more than 300 years ago, there has been a steady march toward technology that enables better and sharper insights into the human body. The history of medical imaging, from the invention of the microscope to the development of today's advanced imaging equipment, helps people understand how it is progressing.
Stay ahead of the industry with exclusive feature stories on the top companies, expert insights and the latest news delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe today.
WHERE EVERYTHING BEGAN
The technologies currently employed in medical imaging evolved from those created by early pioneers, with improvements made to accommodate the demands of both physicians and patients.
The microscope
Even while microscopes do not produce a lasting image, their creation around 1600 allowed a much greater understanding of the human body's cells than before. However, early microscopes had significant optical faults that rendered them inaccurate, and it was not until circa 1830 that these flaws were remedied and microscopes became functional. At this time, the microscope and its findings indicated that cell and cell theory were at the forefront of medical research.
X-rays
Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen observed a new beam type while testing with a cathode ray tube on November 8, 1895. It was given the term "X-ray," and it initiated nothing less than a revolution in the art and science of medical diagnosis, which is still ongoing. After Roentgen's discovery, medical professionals and the general public were ecstatic, and more than 1,000 scientific publications were published in the first year.
In World War I, when Marie Curie delivered X-ray equipment to the French front so that surgeons could see bullets, shrapnel, and bone fractures, radiography was accepted by the military as a crucial diagnostic tool.
Then came the use of X-rays for fluoroscopy. Thomas Edison invented the fluoroscope in 1896; it was soon adopted for medical purposes and contributed to the development of angiography. These advancements stimulated the creativity of radiologists and clinicians, who devised new methods for creating three-dimensional, four-dimensional, functional, and molecular images.
Soundwaves
In 1794, an Italian naturalist named Lazzaro Spallanzani observed that bats could navigate using sound rather than vision, and the notion of echolocation was developed. The concepts of echolocation informed ultrasound technology as a diagnostic instrument. Karl Dussick, a neurologist, was the first to utilize ultrasonic waves on a human skull to identify brain cancers in 1942.
Soon, in 1953, the first echocardiography was done, and Ultrasound technology was modified to identify gallstones and breast cancers. The invention of pulsed Doppler ultrasonography in 1963, continuous wave and color Doppler equipment in the 1970s, and the increasing sophistication of the technology with the potential to produce 3D and even 4D (real-time) images have all contributed to the progression of medical imaging.
Ultrasound technology has advanced alongside other technologies. NASA utilizes sonography in space; the iPhone even includes a telesonography application. The relatively new technology of ultrasound elastography gives semi-quantitative and quantitative assessments of tissue stiffness to aid in tumor detection. Ultrasound fusion, which combines ultrasound with CT, MRI, and PET for a more comprehensive image, is yet another innovation.
More in News