The History, Risks and Benefits of X-rays

 

Could you name one medical invention that has saved millions (if not billions) of lives over the past 100 years? Well, I could give you one item – X-rays!Yes, since it was first utilized to image bones over 100 years ago, the x-ray Mackay has helped save lives, and has helped bring forth an amazing array of discoveries too. Let's look at a brief yet interesting look at the history, risks and benefits of X-rays. 

Who discovered the X-Ray?

According to medical historians, a physics professor in Wurzburg, Bavaria in Germany named Wilhelm Roentgen discovered the X-ray in 1895. He actually discovered this by accident, while doing a test on whether cathode rays could pass through glass. 

Through further experimentation, Wilhelm Roentgen discovered that the mysterious light would pass through most substances, but leave shadows in solid objects. And, since he did not know what the rays actually were, he called them “X-rays”, which meant unknown rays. The first individual to receive an x-ray Mackay  for medical treatment was a guy named Eddie McCarthy in Hanover, who fractured his left wrist while skating on the Connecticut River in 1896. 

The Different Types of X-Rays

To produce a conventional X-ray image, the patient (or a certain par of their body) is placed in front of an X-ray detector and illuminated by short X-ray pulses., And, since the bones in our body are rich in calcium (Which has a high atomic number!)  the X-rays are then absorbed and appear white on the resulting image. 

The most familiar type of X-ray imaging is radiography, which is used to image broken teeth and bones, as well as the chest. Radiography uses the least amounts of radiation. The second type of x-ray Mackay technology is called Fluoroscopy, wherein the radiologist can watch the X-ray of the patient moving in real time and can take snapshots. 

The next type of CT, or computed tomography, wherein the patient lies on a table and enters a ring-shaped scanner. A fan-shaped beam of X-rays then pass through the patient onto a series of detectors, and then the patient moves slowly into the machine so that a series of slices or photos can be taken to create a 3D image. CT scans use the highest doses of X-rays because of the larger images that are taken in one sitting.  

The Risks & Benefits of X-rays

Now, let’s weigh the pros and cons of using an x-ray Mackay scanner.  First, some argue  that X-rays can mutate our DNA, and eventually lead to cancer later in life. In the US, at least 0.4% of cancers are caused by CT scans,  of which scientists expect this to grow as 60 million plus CT scans are carried out in the US each year. 

However, most health experts stress that the fact that X-rays have been used in medicine for a significant amount of time already, it just shows how beneficial they really are. In truth, an  x-ray Mackay scanner is  non-invasive, which means there's no need to physically enter and examine a patient. 

X-rays also help guide medical professionals as they insert stents, catheters and other devices inside patients. They can even show a pathology or feature that's different from the initial diagnosis (Like gas, fluid or bone infections in areas where there should have been none!).