X-Rays

• 1. rays

  Electromagnetic radiation that can pass through objects, discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Röntgen
• Wilhelm Röntgen was experimenting with rays and found that they could pass through flesh but not bone or metal
• Wilhelm Röntgen: 'All bodies are transparent to this agent, for privacy's sake I will use the expression X-rays'
• Uses of X-rays

  • Diagnosing broken bones, finding objects lodged in flesh and bone like bullets and shrapnel
• Mobile x-ray machine

  Equipment laid out for demonstration in a tent where the patient could be laid out for X-ray imaging, processed in the back of a lorry, powered by an onboard generator, lower quality than static x-ray machines but adequate for finding bullets and shrapnel
• Photograph of a mobile x-ray machine with main equipment laid out for demonstration was taken

  1917
• 1. ray technology was far from perfected during World War One
• Problem with x-ray technology


  1. rays only detected hard objects like bullets and shrapnel, not items like wood splinters or bits of dirty cloth that might cause infection
• Problem with x-ray technology


  1. ray images took several minutes to take, making it difficult if a patient was in agony
• Solution to x-ray technology problem

  Soldiers could be sedated with anesthetics to ease the process
• Problem with x-ray technology

  1. ray tubes heated up and needed to cool down for an hour after taking images
• Solution to x-ray technology problem

  Increasing numbers of machines allowed for rotation to allow cooling between taking pictures
• In 1917, the USA entered the war and brought improved tubes from France developed by William Coolidge
• Use of X-ray machines during World War One

  1. Increasing numbers of machines used to keep up with demand

  2. Three machines used at a time in rotation to allow cooling between taking pictures

  3. Improved tubes brought from France developed by William Coolidge

  4. X-ray machines provided a way of finding shrapnel and bullets inside the body without harmful and invasive exploratory surgery

  5. X-rays could be used to diagnose broken bones

  6. Drawbacks with overheating equipment and needing to keep badly hurt men very still

  7. Mobile X-Ray machines and static ones at casualty clearing stations and base hospitals were proving their worth and helping men get the treatment they needed without devastating exploratory surgery
• USA entered the war


  1917
• Problems with x-ray machines were solved to a certain extent and provided a great extra boost to Medical Care
• Specific problems with treating wounds in World War One led to a number of new Innovations which later proved their value in peacetime
• 1. ray machines lacked sufficient quality for diagnosing broken bones due to circumstances and Technology of World War One
• 1. ray photography was made possible by the discoveries of Wilhelm Röntgen when studying radiation
• By the end of World War One, X-Ray machines were proving their worth in helping men get the treatment they needed without invasive exploratory surgery