On this day in 1975 the patent for Diagnostic X-Ray Systems was granted. U.S. Patent No. 3,922,552.
The Diagnostic X-Ray Systems, known today as a CT Scan, was invented by Robert S. Ledley on November 25, 1975 as U.S. Patent No. 3,922,552.
The Diagnostic X-Ray Systems is a machine used for examining the interior of a patient which includes moveable support for the patient, a frame having an opening adapted to circumscribe the patient, a shutter assembly, an X-ray beam source mounted on one side of the opening with a detector unit mounted on the opposite side of the opening such that a beam emitted by the source passes through the patient prior to reception by the detector. The machine also includes mechanisms to rotate and tilt the framework to get a better image of the patient.
I think it goes without saying that this invention has been a huge breakthrough in the medical imaging field. Doctors can now see what they were once unable to see and help detect and diagnose things at a faster, more accurate rate. It has also been huge in the areas of preventative care.
When the Diagnostic X-Ray Systems was first invented it could only take images of the head and it took over 4 minutes for one slice acquisition. Now with the advances of technology CT Scans can take images in less than half a second and, thanks to Dr. Ledley, do a complete body scan in seconds as well.
This machine was first used on a patient at the Georgetown University hospital, where a toddler was taken after falling off his bike and hitting his head. With the CT scanner, doctors scanned his brain and detected a blood clot that, unnoticed, might have killed the toddler.
Dr. Ledley sold his company, Disco, that produced the scanners, to Pfizer. He also went on to patent over 20 inventions in his lifetime, one of those being the skid-resistant crutches.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/robert-s-ledley-physicist-who-invented-first-full-body-ct-scanner-dies-at-86/2012/07/26/gJQA0TxaCX_story.html