Early days of scanning: Pioneers and sleepwalkers

Abstract 

By 1945, 50 years after Röntgen's discovery, conventional X-ray was still the only tool generally available for radiological investigation. In the following 30 years, building particularly on wartime work in nuclear physics, acoustics, and digital technology, a powerful new set of tools emerged, based largely on the concept of “scanning”. Much of this resulted from the work of a relatively small number of individuals. Some of these were so far ahead of the conventional wisdom that they were dismissed as cranks by most of their contemporaries.

This paper briefly outlines some of the early developments, particularly in the areas of ultrasound, CT, and radioisotope imaging, and recalls some of the characters involved, and very different welcomes that accorded them by the radiological community of the day. It also comments on the remarkably large part played in these developments by British workers, and contrasts this with the general failure of British industry to capitalise on the opportunities that were presented.

Keywords: Imaging, History, Radioisotopes, Ultrasound, CT, MRI