There was a point in the history of our species before which there was a bit of guessing when it came to diagnosing medical issues. Without certain technology, there was no way to be able to find the source of some illnesses or injuries. But that all began to significantly change when, in 1972, a British engineer and a South African-born physicist invented the first computerized tomography scanner. A computed tomography scan, or a CT scan, takes information from multiple X-ray images and translates them into images on a monitor. Once these scans began to become part of standard practices, it became easier to diagnose and treat certain ailments.

The inventors and their invention

The engineer, Godfrey Hounsfield, working out of EMI Laboratories in England, and the physicist, Allan Cormack, who was working at Tufts University in Massachusetts, ended up being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the work they did and the contributions that they made to science and medicine. And quite the contributions they were! Sending a two dimensional image to a screen to show a slice or section of a three dimensional object allows the capability to see where we otherwise would have trouble seeing without causing significant damage. And not only does it allow for crucial medical advancements, but the technology is now also spreading to other uses. Industrial CT scanning services can provide efficient and cost effective inspection of parts and products.

From simple hand X-rays…
The very first computer tomography scanners put into clinical use in the mid 1970s were intended for use on individual body parts like the head or a hand. It took several hours to get any data for just one single scan, and multiple days to put together just on single image from that data. With modern advancements, not only can a patient’s entire body be scanned, but the speed at which the data is processed into a visible image has picked up considerably, from taking days to taking mere seconds.

…to industrial CT scanning services
The applications of the impressive computerized tomography have spread to the manufacturing world, where industrial CT scanning services have made NDT testing, or non destructive testing, a reality. Companies who employ this method are able to inspect small parts by scanning non invasively as opposed to taking apart random parts for quality control checks. This process enables customers to lower the costs of inspecting new products and the costs of failure analysis from between 25% to 75%.

When you think of the incredible advancements made in the science, medical, and technological fields, and in such a relatively small amount of time, it is hard not to imagine what possibilities we could develop in the near future. We are not far removed from the generations who never even conceived of seeing within a human body without having to do surgery of some sort. Technology continues to advance at such a rate that even the progress that we have seen in our lifetimes could just possibly pale in comparison to what future generations will know and see.