My book tells the story of early radiation therapy. It examines the technology that made radiation therapy possible and follows the difficult, often deadly struggle to harness a new force in the world for healing, fame, and fortune.
You can order the book from University of Pittsburgh Press.
Beth Landers, Librarian at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, spoke with me about the book and what lessons we can learn about medical innovation in the current pandemic moment.
The doctor is holding up and looking through a fluoroscope (a screen covered with fluorescent paste) to view a real-time x-ray image, created by the light-bulb shaped emitter set on a stand in front of the patient. Note the doctor’s bare hands; radiologists often tested the emitters by holding their own hands in front of the fluoroscope before moving the patient into position. Many early x-ray therapists eventually succumbed to aggressive cancers that began in their hands.
The American X-Ray Journal 8:3 (March 1901): 866. Available from https://archive.org/download/americanxrayjour7819unse/
The x-ray emitter bulb held aloft by the angel connects to a generator at bottom right. The whole set-up, minus angelic assistance and polar orbit deployment, could be had for around $200 in 1897.
The American X-Ray Journal, 1:1 (1897). Available at https://archive.org/download/americanxrayjour1418unse