Since the end of the 19th century, radiologists have used the fluoroscope to diagnose and treat medical diseases and conditions. The fluoroscope uses X-ray radiation to create images of the human body.
Discovery of X Rays
Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, a German physicist, discovered X rays in 1895.
Inventor
Thomas Alva Edison invented the fluoroscope in 1896.
Imaging
A fluoroscope targets a stream of radiation to a certain region of the human body for the purpose of detecting the body masses inside on a fluorescent screen. Bones show up as dark images and organs and tissues show up as lighter images on the screen.
Early Design
Early in the history of the fluoroscope, the medical doctor positioned the patient between the X-ray tube and the fluorescent screen. On the spots where radiation hit the screen, the screen would glow brightly. On the spots where radiation was absorbed or reflected, shadows were visible on the fluorescent screen.
Modern Design
In contemporary fluoroscopes, radiologists use a video camera system or a flat-panel detector to display X rays in a location removed from the source of X ray radiation.
Tags: fluorescent screen, human body, spots where, spots where radiation, where radiation
