International Day of Radiology

Today, November 8th, is the International Day of Radiology — Let’s Celebrate Together!

You can show your support by changing your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram profile picture for the occasion… or just print yourself a mask. (Some people are already getting silly with this – on the other side of the world even!)

So… yesterday was Madame Curie’s birthday, which we love to celebrate for so many reasons, as she was an amazing scientist and an amazing woman. Today is the anniversary of the discovery of x-rays by Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen.

X-ray technology has revolutionized medicine, from conventional x-rays to check for broken bones to other modalities, such as CT scans and mammograms, which also use x-rays to form the images. These imaging techniques based on the x-ray allow an amazing view of the internal structure of our bodies, from our heads to our toes and every part in between. In short, medicine would not be what it is today without Röntgen’s discovery.

In a move of serendipity (perhaps not an accident…), November is also Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and this year’s International Day of Radiology has a focus on lung health. We’re fans of our lungs (yours too)! On both of our blogs, we’ve written about scientific progress in imaging and early detection of lung cancer, as well as how to kick the smoking habit for the sake of good health, including breast health. Using CT techniques with low-dose, we now have a way of screening for and finding lung cancer – a method which will hopefully enable us to find smaller, more treatable lung tumors in those at high risk. Reducing risk is key – we should not lose sight of that in our celebration of lung health and imaging.

We love our jobs, based on the discoveries of amazing individuals, and through our blogs hope to educate people on how radiologists can help you on your path towards better health. We can’t imagine our world without the discovery of Röntgen – we applaud him and all the researchers in imaging since him who have had such a tremendous impact on medicine and health. Cheers, radiology!

Image credit: Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen Copyright Public Domain

Originally published 11/8/13 on diagnosticimagingcenterskc.com.