When x-ray machines first hit the market in the early part of the 20th Century, they were a modern marvel. No one knew about the dangers of x-rays, and it spawned a number of inventions that would certainly be banned from production today. If your business uses any kind of radiology equipment or machines that use x-rays, you need the right kind of radiation shielding. But why is this protection so important? Let’s look a little closer to see.
Early X-ray Machine Inventions
Believe it or not, until as late as the 1970s, pedoscopes were available in shoe stores in many parts of the world, including the US. The machine lets the customer insert his or her feet into the bottom section, and then you could look down and see an x-ray of your feet in your shoes. This lets you know if the shoes fit properly and no one thought about radiation shielding.
X-ray Discovery
In 1895, a man named Roentgen was working with cathode tubes in Germany. He discovered that the rays could penetrate human tissue, but not bones and the first x-ray was taken of his wife’s hand. He could see things inside of containers too.
About that same time, Becquerel in France discovered materials like uranium gave off a natural radioactivity when some uranium accidentally exposed his photographic film. Before long, x-rays became part of healthcare diagnostics, and it is still a major part today.
Slowly, more information became available about injury from radiation exposure. In fact, today, it’s believed to be a contributing factor for a number of diseases and ailments including cancer. That’s why everyone must be highly concerned about radiation shielding and the reason there are many laws and regulations in place today. Thanks to these laws, the world is a safer place to live, and medical science continues to advance and save lives each year.
