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Medicine

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Apr 3, 2024

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Medical X-Ray Systems Current Trends & Applications (APS-4010-OL010) 1/28/2024 Topic Selection

When I enlisted in the Army in 2000, I wanted to select a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) that I could use after I got out of the military. After speaking with my brother-in-law, I decided to choose the MOS 68A, biomedical equipment technician. As a 68A, my responsibilities were servicing and maintaining all medical equipment with mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, electronic, digital, optical, and radiological principles. As well as perform calibrations and preventive maintenance, inspect equipment serviceability, perform operational checkout procedures, troubleshoot and isolate malfunctions, replace and repair defective components, install medical equipment considering power and space requirements, and record all services performed. After being discharged from the Army in 2012, I continued my career as a biomedical equipment technician. As a BMET, I work on a variety of medical equipment ranging from suction apparatuses and fetal heart monitors to X-ray equipment. For this assignment, I have chosen to write about medical X-ray equipment. History of the X-ray The history of X-radiation, or X-ray dates back to an earlier time than most people realize. I asked a few people I know if they knew when the X-ray was invented. Most of them answered with dates from the 1900s. However, the X-ray was invented in the late 1890s by a German Professor by the name of Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen. Professor Roentgen was working on a cathode-ray tube in his lab when he observed a fluorescent glow near the tube. The “ray” was able to pass through a variety of materials that were in the lab. “Roentgen also discovered that the ray could pass through the tissue of humans, but not the bones and metal objects.” (nde-

ed.org, n.d.). Professor Roentgen first tested his discovery of the X-ray on his wife’s hand in late 1895. When word got out about Roentgen new discovery, many scientists began working on their own x-ray prototypes. They were able to do so because cathode tubes were well known during that time. Within 6 months of discovering the x-ray, it was being used by the military during combat to help military doctors locate bullets and shrapnel in injured soldiers. Outside of medical and dental practices, x-rays were not used on a regular basis prior to 1912. This was due to the voltage requirements of the x-ray tubes. The lack of voltage would result in the x-ray tubes breaking. In 1913, high vacuum tubes were created. These new vacuum tubes were able to operate at around 100,000 volts, making them a more reliable source for x-rays. Those high vacuum tubes were used for nearly a decade before the next advancement was discovered. In 1922, a new x-ray tube was created, operating at around 200,000 volts, this new x-ray allowed the user to take images of thick steel. It wasn’t until 1931 that General Electric Company, or GE, was able to create an x-ray generator that was able to operate on 1 million volts. Thanks to this discovery, x-rays would be changed forever. Major competitors in the X-ray marketplace Since its inception, numerous scientists, laymen, and companies were drawn into the fascination of the X-ray. Some of the major competitors in X-ray systems include Siemens Healthcare, Carestream Health, Philips Healthcare, Hitachi Medical, GE Healthcare, Shimadzu, Fujifilm Holdings, Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation, and Canon. Each of these companies/corporations has played a significant role in the field of radiology in one way or another. However, for this assignment, I will briefly discuss 3 of these competitors, GE

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