Radiography can be defined as the science of making film records from X-rays, also known as radiographs of the human body’s internal anatomy, by exposing a film that has been sensitized to electromagnetic radiation to the body. It is with these photographs that a record is made out of the findings which are used for examination in the diagnostic processes (Hertrich, 2005). It was formally referred as ‘plain’ X-rays but was switched to the use of electromagnetic radiation because it is the suitable general term that covers the other types of medical imaging like ultrasound.
Radiography is usually mistaken with radiology but there is a huge difference between the two as radiology, having the suffix (-ology), means the study of high-energy radiation while radiography, having the suffix (-graphy), means the taking of images. Radiology, therefore, is a field of medicine that specialize as in the study and analysis of radiographs while radiography is the taking of radio images of the body parts of patients. Radiography essentially provides images of the internal body structure to aid in the diagnosis, monitoring and eventual treatment of the ailing patient (Hertrich, 2005).
Initially, the radiographs were once known as roentgenograms. They were named after the man who was the first to discover X-rays, Professor Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (Hertrich, 2005). In addition, till 1918, the radiographer was referred to as a skiagrapher (coming from two words meaning shadow and writer).
The origin of radiography dates back to 1895 by German physics Professor Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen of Wuerzburg University (Hertrich, 2005). The professor discovered the radiation and also that the X ray passes through the flesh, though never through a metal or bone. The professor named it X because it was an unidentified form of radiation. That discovery proved a good thing in the subsequent years, especially in the field of medicine.
His account of the discovery starts when he was investigating cathode rays through a glass screen coated with a chemical called barium platinocyanide on a Crookes tube which he had covered with a black cardboard. He saw a green glow from the screen. He then found out that there were rays the human eye cannot see emanating from the tube; they were passing through the cardboard to produce a glow. However, there is also another account of his discovery that he was using a glass tube and on covering it with a thick black paper, he found that that a green light was able to penetrate the black paper (NDT Resource Centre, n,d).
He then went on to discover the rays’ use in the medical field when he made a photograph of the hand of his wife which was seen on a similar plate because of the rays; that was the first ever human body photograph made by X-rays. Shocked, the wife could not believe seeing herself as the flesh and bone she is and exclaimed that she had seen her death (NDT Resource Centre, n.d).
In 1896, the clinical properties of these rays were seen in an incident where John-Hall Edwards of the UK used the rays to visualize a needle lodged in the hand of his patient (Thomas, 2013). Now discovering the vast benefit of ‘seeing is believing,’ the doctor went on to be the first doctor in history to use the rays in surgery a month later. The discovery was purely accidental because the doctor was only conducting an experiment. No one had done such a thing before, but it was evident that the rays could be utilized to make observations on the human body.
In the same year, the US had its first testament of seeing the phenomenon by the use of a discharge tube originally designed by Ivan Pulyui. After reading the story of the discovery of X-rays by Professor Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, Frank Austin of Dartmouth College produced the X-rays. Later that year, Professor Gilman Frost of the same university, along with his brother, then exposed the wrist of a former patient of his whom he had treated a while back of a fracture, and it was then that the he was able to make a visualization of the broken bone (NDT Resource Centre, n.d).
The X-rays were used for medical imaging in many occasions from then. For instance, in the same year, Alan Archibald Campbell-Swinton of the UK formed a radiographic laboratory. Also, in the World War 1, Marie Curie encouraged the use of radiography to treat men in the army. Therefore, it is suffice to assume that radiography can was initially used by doctors, physicists, and photographers. Its value in the field of medicine went on to develop over the , years as technology advanced, and it could be used in a variety of ways and also in making it safe for diagnostics.
Therefore, it is essential for radiographers to be well trained and educated on the use of the machines as there are now wide uses and forms of radiography, along with new forms of technology. There are many branches of radiography used today; for instance, there is fluoroscopy, and magnetic resonance imaging. There is also tomography which covers a section of the human body, ultrasound, and ultrasonography. In addition, there is serial radiography which involves exposing a specific part of the body at intervals. Other forms of radiography include neutron radiography among others but this essay deals exclusively with ultrasound.
Ultrasound is the medical imaging technique done by radiographers in the laboratories. It involves the use of sound waves beamed into the patient’s body, therefore, causing returning echoes that are recorded to create an image or visualize the patient’s internal anatomy. With the use of the right technology that does well to measure the carrying echoes reflected back from the various internal organs, the radiographer is able to create a shadow picture from the recordings. In 1794, a physiologist named Lazzaro Spallanzani studied the echolation among bats, from which the very idea behind ultrasound imaging was born (Marincek & Dondelinger, 2007).
In 1877, two brothers (Pierre and Jacques Currie) discovered piezoelectricity. The latter is the basis of how transducers produce and receive sound waves. In addition, in 1915, scientist Paul Langevin was on a project to create a device that was able to detect the presence of objects at the very depths of the sea (Marincek & Dondelinger, 2007). This was from the inspiration of the fall of the Titanic.
He created the hydrophone, which was to the World Congress Ultrasound in Medical Education stated as the first probe in history (Ultra Sounds Schools Info, n.d). Consequently, in 1942, neurologist Karl Dussik was hailed to be the first person in history to use ultrasonography in medical assessment as he used a beam of ultrasound to detect tumors in the brain.
Later on, in 1966, Don Baker, Dennis Watkins, and John Reid designed technology in ultrasound whose development enabled visualization of images of blood flow in the heart. The technology went on to be used and developed in the 1970s (NDT Resource Centre, n.d). It is later in the 1990s that the imaging quality from ultrasonography was beginning to improve with 3D and 4D image capabilities and from then, there has been a wide application of ultrasounds, especially in the field of medicine.
Ultrasonography is the science behind the ultrasound form of imaging that facilitates the use of sound waves to enable medical diagnosis. It takes a skilled ultrasound technician to be able to visualize the internal section of the body using ultrasonography in order to make diagnosis and consultation of what ails the patient. Many times, there is a positive interrelation between the between ultrasonography and radiology.
It is then up to the radiologist who will look at the results from the scan and make an assessment after understanding the images. However, ultrasonography is not specifically used by radiologists alone; for instance, obstetricians use it to create an image of the fetus in the mother’s womb during pregnancy, and surgeons use it at the bedside to assess abdominal pain or also during their surgical operations (Copel, 2012).
The process involved in ultrasonography involves the use of a transducer at the initial stage to produce and receive sound waves and echoes. Heated Mineral oil or acoustic gel is then smeared on the skin to create a suitable seal for effective scanning. The ultrasound technician will then apply his or her understanding of the human body and the knowledge of the human internal body organs and evaluate specific body parts in question and help the doctor understand what the internal organs of the patient looks like. It is a time-consuming process and requires the transducer to have its position changed at many intervals and into varying directions. Also, the technician will have to vary the amount of pressure used to push the transducer into the skin.
The overall aim of the project is to create a shadow picture or photograph of the internal organs that the physician has asked to be visualized and analyzed. The quality of the picture being produced depends on many varying factors; for example, sound waves cannot do a deep penetration. Therefore, the images of an obese person will have poor results in terms of quality, and the sound cannot produce a clear target organ and the transducer.
Many times, the operator can determine the quality of the images produced. For instance, the operator can vary the time of exposure and the peak voltage. The energy source and the distance between the object under illumination and the machine are others factors that may also affect the quality of the image taken. For example, when the distance is huge, there is interaction with the air, which might influence the quality of the image negatively.
Consequently, when there is a presence of gas in the intestines, and it is the latter that is being probed, there would not be clear images. The same fact applies to the lungs as they have air inside of them. In addition, ultrasound cannot penetrate through bones with ease. It is also important to note that the person working the machines has to be very skilled and knowledgeable, as the accuracy of the results is highly dependent on the operator. It is therefore essential to have a very skilled ultrasound technician to work the machines and conduct the process to ensure maximum efficiency (Wedro, 2015).
In conclusion, this essay shows the essence of radiography in our field of medicine today. With medical imaging, a physician can visualize and be able to understand what ails the patient and with the efficiency of technology today, people can get quick recoveries from ailments and injuries that in the past would have taken much longer to treat or heal. In other cases, there would be a wrongful diagnosis. All these challenges were eliminated with the discovery of radiography. Also, the use of ultrasound is seen as beneficial as it has created an alternative to X-rays and gamma rays which in some situations would be of danger to the situation. A good example is in monitoring the growth of the fetus during pregnancy. It would be interesting to see how advancements in technology would influence these two medical fields, especially now that both fields are established. It can only be hoped that the future advancements would save more lives and increase the accuracy of diagnosis and treatment.
References
Hertrich, P. H. (2005). Practical radiography: Principles and applications. Erlangen: Publicis
Corp. Publ.
Marincek, B., & Dondelinger, R. F. (2007). Emergency radiology: Imaging and intervention.
Berlin: Springer.
NDT Resource Centre. (n.d.). History of Radiography. Retrieved May 6, 2016, from https://www.nde-ed.org: https://www.nde-ed.org/EducationResources/CommunityCollege/Radiography/Introduction/history.htm
Thomas, A. M. K. (2013). History of radiology. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
Ultra Sounds Schools Info. (n.d.). History of Ultrasound. Retrieved May 6, 2016, from http://www.ultrasoundschoolsinfo.com: http://www.ultrasoundschoolsinfo.com/history/
Wedro, B. (2015, June 3). Ultrasound. Retrieved May 2016, 6, from http://www.medicinenet.com: http://www.medicinenet.com/ultrasound/article.htm
