Basic Considerations of
Radiation Safety and Barrier Protection

History of Medical Diagnostic Imaging and Protection X-rays were discovered in 1895 by Professor Röntgen. Radiology began as a medical sub-specialty in the early 1900s. The development of radiology grew at a brisk pace, and was an integral part of diagnostic medicine during World War II. The advent of the digital computer and new imaging modalities such as ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have combined to create an explosion of diagnostic imaging techniques in the past 25 years. For the first fifty years of radiology, an examination involved focusing x-rays through the body part of interest and directly onto a single piece of film housed inside a special cassette. In the earliest days, a head x-ray could require up to 11 minutes of exposure time. Today, x-ray images are taken in milliseconds, and the x-ray dose is as little as 2% of what was used for an 11-minute head exam over 100 years ago. Scientists truly began to make advances in the study of atomic structure and radiation in the latter part of the 19th century. They soon learned that radiation was not only a source of energy that could be used for medical purposes, but that it could also be a potential threat to human health if not handled properly. After x-rays were discovered in 1895, medical doctors immediately saw the potential benefits and began experimenting with "The Ray" using homemade equipment. Just three weeks after the discovery of x-rays was announced, the first of many experimenters complained that their hands had received painful x-ray burns. In fact, early pioneers in radiation research died from radiation-induced illnesses due to overexposure. Thomas Edison's assistant died from a radiation-induced tumor as a result of too much x-ray exposure. Madame Marie Curie, who discovered radium and polonium, eventually died at the age of 67 from leukemia.We now know that radiation poisoning and a lifetime of exposure to radioactive materials can cause leukemia. French physicist Antoine Henri Becquerel, discoverer of natural radioactivity, carried a piece of radium in his vest pocket and suffered a severe radiation-induced burn. Indeed, the early pioneers in the discovery of radiation and radioactive materials were very often martyrs to the cause!

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