Page 227 - Inventions - A Visual Encyclopedia (DK - Smithsonian)

THREE-DIMENSIONAL PICTURES
A computerized axial tomography (CAT)
scanner is basically a three-dimensional X-ray
CAT scanner machine. It takes X-rays from different angles
around the body to create a series of images
that can be put together to build a 3-D
picture. In 1971, the British engineer Godfrey
Hounsfield developed the first prototype, which
could only take images of the head. Later, in
1975, he built the first whole-body scanner.
Motorized
bed moves the
patient into
the scanner. IN GOOD HEALTH

WOW!

Modern MRI machines
can create a magnetic
field thousands of times
stronger than Earth’s
magnetic field.

Color MRI
scan of a
human head

USING MAGNETS
Invented in 1977 by the
American doctor Raymond
Damadian, the magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI)
scanner uses powerful magnets
to create a picture of the body’s
interior. The magnets do this by
making the body’s hydrogen
atoms move in such a way that
they can be detected by radio
waves. MRI scans can reveal the
body’s bones, muscles, and organs.

US_224-225_Looking_inside_Main.indd 225 08/03/18 3:10 PM