The history of radiology goes back to 1895 when Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen "discovered" the x-ray, describing the properties of this previously unknown type of electromagnetic radiation in stunning detail. In the early 1900s, people started using x-rays for all sorts of things, even for purposes such as helping to fit shoes! The medical uses of x-rays were the only applications that persisted, though, as the dangers of ionizing radiation were discovered.

At first, all sorts of medical and non-medical professionals used x-rays in hospitals and clinics. Everyone from doctors and nurses to engineers and photographers could use x-rays, and they didn’t typically have any kind of specialized training. It wasn’t long until a professional subset of the medical community was built up around the field of radiography, though. Newer and safer diagnostic testing techniques were developed, and specialized training was required to operate the machines used for these tests. Radiographers emerged as a new type of medical professional with the specialized training to adapt to this new technology.

New technologies developed in the field of radiology throughout the 1940s, ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, from fluoroscopy and mammography, to tomography and ultrasound, to nuclear medicine and computed tomography. Magnetic Resonance Imaging, also known as MRIs, emerged in the 1950s—although extensive research was not done until the 1970s, and the technology wasn’t used on humans until 1984.

Digital radiography, also known as computed radiography, did not emerge until the 1970s. This technology uses imaging cassettes of phosphor to create digital images. The invention of the computed tomography scanner, or CT scan, developed from an early application in 1967 that led to a prototype in 1971 by Allan McLeod Cormack and Godfrey Hounsfield. Computers began playing a much bigger role in the 1980s, when complementary PACS systems debuted and impacted digital radiography in major ways. Now radiographic images can be stored in the DICOM format, which is similar to a JPEG, and can be sent and received via the Internet.

The biggest advances in radiology since the 1990s have been in the accessibility, cost and convenience of the technology. The drastic drop in price (and size) of electronic devices and personal computers has made digital medical imaging much more cost effective, allowing the technology to spread further and impact more lives. As technology continues to advance, who knows what the history of radiology will look like at the beginning of the next century?