As I was watching astronauts repair an unexpected problem with the space shuttle Discovery last month while working on an article about radiology technology, my thoughts turned to exploration.
Our generation has been fascinated by space exploration. In the early 1900s, scientists, doctors and the public were just as intrigued by the exploration of the human body through X-rays.
According to "The Shadowmakers: A History of Radiologic Technology," published by the American Society of Radiologic Technology (1995), early reactions to Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen's 1895 discovery ranged from "unimpressing" to "a revolting indecency."
Nevertheless, by the 1896 National Electrical Exposition, people were lining up to view the bones of their hands through Edison's Fluoroscope, and entrepreneurs and doctors began finding practical applications for X-ray apparatus.
As early as the Spanish American War in 1898, the U.S. Army Medical Corps was using X-rays to locate bullets in wounded soldiers.
In 1896, the "New Orleans Medical and Surgical Review" wrote prophetically, if a bit optimistically, "Away with your stethoscope, plessimeter, sphymograph opthalmoscope, laryngoscope and cystoscope! Away with your powder and pills, your knives and batteries! Bring forth your camera and your X-ray - there you have diagnosis, prognosis and treatment!"
More than a century later, the technology and medical applications for imaging continue to grow at space-age speeds. The new SOMATOM Sensation CT (computed tomography) scanner rotates X-ray beams 360 degrees around the patient, taking thousands of images (or slices) of the body a second. It can detect strokes, head injuries, herniated discs, fractures and bone and soft-tissue damage.
"This CT scanner will reduce the need for some patients to undergo more involved procedures to diagnose common health problems," said DiAnne Wallace, director of Piedmont Fayette Hospital's radiology imaging services.
Today's computer-enhanced imaging technology and the highly skilled technologists who operate it are exploring the body in more minute detail than ever before, catching diseases earlier, pinpointing tumors more accurately and helping physicians perform less invasive surgical techniques to eliminate life-threatening conditions such as aneurysms. The positron emission tomography (PET) scanner can show all the organ systems of a targeted area in one image, replacing costly and time-consuming multiple testing. Experts say that virtual colonoscopy may soon be a reality.
Radiology technologists have been working on the cutting edge of medical science for more than 100 years. Practitioners say keeping up with the advances is exciting and challenging, but the real thrill is that better diagnostic testing helps to extend and save patients' lives.
This month's cover story takes a look at some of the newest procedures being performed at Piedmont Hospital, the first health care facility in Georgia to achieve American College of Radiology accreditation in all its diagnostic modalities.
Another first for Georgia - the Positron Emission Tomography Center at Emory University Hospital - is one of the first centers in North America to be awarded accreditation by the Intersocietal Commission for Accreditation of Nuclear Medicine Laboratories.
Georgia is at the forefront of imaging advances - exploring the latest means of diagnostic testing and disease intervention - but, like the rest of the nation, it faces a growing shortage of radiology technologists. With almost every medical specialty using imaging, more specialists are needed for this field.
Also in this issue, you'll read news from the Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing's Future; see how lactation consultants are making a difference in the lives of newborns and premature infants and learn why the new eating disorders program at Peachford Hospital.
— Do you have any story ideas for Pulse? We’d love to hear more about your career and what you do after hours. E-mail me at pulseeditor@ajc.com or call 404-526- 2078.