Birthday of Sir Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield | Inventor of the CAT scanner | Techday, August 28th
On this Techday in history, on August 28th 1919, Sir Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield was born in England. He was an electrical engineer who, in 1979, shared (with Allan Cormack) a Nobel Prize for the development of “computerised axial tomography”, also known as the CAT scanner.
He applied the idea of scanning the brain using hundreds of X-ray beams, which were then analyzed and reconstructed by a computer program handling complex calculations. By 1973, he had build a CAT scanner that produced cross-section images of brains in 4.5 minutes.
The CT scanner uses X-ray technology to create detailed images of the inside of the body. It works by taking multiple X-ray images from different angles and then using a computer to combine them into a detailed, cross-sectional image. This technology revolutionized medical imaging and made it possible for doctors to diagnose and treat diseases and injuries with much greater accuracy.
In 1979, Hounsfield received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his invention, which he shared with Allan McLeod Cormack, an American physicist who developed a similar technology independently. Hounsfield’s invention has saved countless lives and improved the quality of life for millions of people. He passed away on August 12, 2004, at the age of 84.
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Author: Pc.gr
The World of Technology
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