Photograph showing an early method for testing x-rays, Europe

Made:
1950-1920 in Europe
Photograph of an early method of testing the output of X-rays Copy of monochrome photograph of an early method of testing the

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Photograph of an early method of testing the output of X-rays
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Copy of monochrome photograph of an early method of testing the
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Photograph of an early method of testing the output of X-rays by observing the appearance of a hand through a fluoroscope

An early method of testing the output of X-rays using a fluoroscope is shown in this photograph. The body could be viewed through a fluoroscope without taking or developing time-consuming X-ray photographs. The X-rays instead fell on a screen which fluoresced immediately. This let the physician see the same thing as an X-ray photograph, or in this case use the fluoroscope to test the X-ray output.

X-rays were discovered in 1895 by German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen (1845-1923). Battlefield surgeons and medics quickly took them up. However, X-ray departments were rare in hospitals in the UK until the 1930s. This was because of the costs and the need for trained personnel. Early X-rays also took time to develop. The images were sometimes poor quality.

Details

Category:
Radiomedicine
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
A606970
Materials:
paper and cover, glass
type:
photograph