An Accident that changed the world!

I recently injured myself playing basketball. At first, it just felt like I twisted my ankle but the next morning my ankle was swollen to double its size. I could barely put any weight on it. That meant a trip to the ER. I am always fascinated by how technology has helped us look through the body with invisible rays and tell what's happening inside. A simple X-ray can tell whether you have a broken bone or not.

Most of us know that Rector Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered X-rays. He accidentally discovered it in his lab in a cathode ray tube. He spent the next 6 weeks working alone and concentrating on his work. He then came back from the hiatus with an X-ray of his wife's hand with the ring on it! The New York Times reported the discovery of a new form of photography, which revealed hidden solids, penetrated wood, paper, and flesh, and exposed the bones of the human frame. X-rays have much higher energy and much shorter wavelengths than ultraviolet light (between 0.03 and 3 nanometers). Some X-rays are no bigger than a single atom.

The technology has grown since they were first discovered. Initially, x-rays were made on glass photographic plates. They were then replaced with photographic film. In the 1970s, X-rays were transitioned to digital imaging which led to the now-known CT scans (Computed tomography Scans). Godfrey Hounsfield co-invented the technology with physicist Dr. Allan Cormack and both were awarded the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.

From Digital mammography to CT scans to Fluoroscopy, X-rays are an indispensable part of medical imaging. But interestingly enough they are used in mining to even fitting shoes! NASA's Mars Exploration Rover, Spirit, used X-rays to detect the composition of Martian rocks.

Now back to my own foot. It turned out the X-rays couldn't tell if I had a small hairline fracture or if it was just the growth plate in the ankle (which is cartilage and looks just like a fracture as it is not calcified). So I ended up with the cast for a few weeks with several X-rays later clarifying that it was not a fracture but just a bad ligament tear. With proper rest and support, I am back to feeling normal! (Well almost !!! LOL)

Who would have thought one of the biggest revolutions in medical imaging was discovered merely by an accident? So never underestimate what you can do and explore incidentally. Just keep your mind and eyes open!

1. Strickland D, Stranges AN. X-rays: laying the foundation of modern radiology, 1896-1930. Med Secoli. 1991;3(2-3):207-22. PMID: 11640122.

2. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/articles/2022/01/from-films-to-digital-the-evolution-of-imaging-records

3. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/11_xrays

4. https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200111/history.cfm