Located on the third and fourth floors, the museum features two exhibits about the inventions that have revolutionized the world of medical imaging. Stemming from the discovery of the x-ray in 1895 and extending to 21st century medical imaging technologies, doctors have unparalleled, non-invasive access to the human body.
Third Floor: Medical Imaging Exhibit
Wilhelm Roentgen
On November 8, 1895, Wilhelm von Roentgen (1845-1923), a physicist, was experimenting with running an electrical current through a vacuum tube. He noticed that the light from the tube illuminated a nearby shelf and retained the shape of the shelf. He then discovered how to create pictures from the light tube – inventing the x-ray. Although x-rays were hailed as one of the great inventions of the 20th century, Roentgen refused to patent his invention because he believed it too valuable to mankind to covet for personal riches.
Marie Curie
Marie Curie (1867-1934) studied the properties of the x-rays invented by Wilhelm Roentgen and is renowned for her discoveries of radium and polonium. Through her research, she posited that radium could be used to kill tumors and invented the term “radioactive”. She also designed mobile x-ray machines for use in hospitals and battlefields.
Emil Grubbe
X-rays taken by Emil Grubbe (1875-1960) line the doorway into this exhibit. Grubbe was the first doctor to use x-rays or radiation treatments to eradicate cancer in individuals. His first successful cancer eradiations occurred in January 1896. Grubbe was born in Chicago and founded the first radiation therapy center in Chicago in 1896.
Shoe-Fitting X-Ray Device
Shoe-fitting x-ray machines were advertised as the scientific way to determine if your feet fit inside your shoes. Popular during the late 1940s and 1950s, the machines benefitted from the interest in science generated by the space race. Some of the machines unfortunately leaked radiation, and people were becoming warier of increased x-ray exposure. By 1970, over half the states in the United States had banned shoe-fitting x-ray devices; the other states strictly regulated the use of such machines, which effectively rendered their use impossible.
Fourth Floor: Milestones in Medical Imaging Exhibit
Gamma-Rays
Used in nuclear medicine, gamma-ray imaging tracks radioactive sources within the body. The patient ingests radioactive isotopes that emit gamma-rays. The resulting image shows how organs are functioning and allows doctors to diagnose diseases before the diseases affect a patient’s anatomy.
SPECT
Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) creates cross-sectional images like those produced by CT (Computed Tomography), but uses gamma-ray emission, rather than x-ray transmission, technology. Gamma cameras rotate around the patient. The resulting images are pieced together to create a 3D image.
PET
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) creates cross-sectional images from gamma-ray emissions. PET records gamma-rays that come from a different kind of radioactive decay that allows doctors to use radiopharmaceuticals with shorter half-lives than the SPECT gamma-rays – reducing the patient’s radiation dose. This imaging technique is also used to measure the success of cancer treatments on tumors and to image brain functioning.
MRI
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) uses magnetic fields and radio waves to generate images. The first MRI image was created in 1977. MRI has since become an essential imaging tool for doctors because of its ability to provide detailed images of soft tissue structures within the body, like the brain, the heart, and cancer tumors.
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