The History of Portable X-Ray Machines

The History of Portable X-Ray Machines

Did you know that portable X-ray machines have been around for more than 100 years? There is so much rich history to one of history’s greatest technological advances. Click to read more below to discover the history of portable X-ray machines, and how they have come so far, but still have more to go.

First Uses

In 1895, X-rays were discovered by Wilhelm Roentgen. After this discovery, doctors were using this technique to look at images of bones, especially to see if a bone had fragments or bullets in it. At the time of World War 1, Marie Curie was working on her radiation research with radium. Before the invasion, she boxed up all of her radium and left it in Bordeaux for safekeeping. While Curie could not work on her radium research she felt that she still needed to occupy her time, so she joined the war effort. Curie devised a car that she went around to wounded soldiers on the battlefield. Each car would hold X-ray equipment. Curie organized a group of about 150 women who were trained as X-ray-type technologists who would take images of the soldiers for better medical treatment. Unfortunately, many of these X-ray workers were overexposed to X-rays and had severe burns. Ultimately, Marie Curie developed cancer as a result of her exposure to radium. This led to safety precautions and a better understanding of how radiation can mutate genetic material. Radiologists now have many protective precautions against radiation exposure.

How Do Current X-Ray Machines Work?

X-ray machines work by emitting X-rays through a person’s body. People who are undergoing X-rays are at a risk for extra radiation exposure. They are outfitted with lead garments to protect the rays from penetrating their body. An X-ray will go through a person’s body, and if it is reflected back, it will show up on the image as white. This means that all of the white areas on the image will show calcification, hardened tissues, and bone. The X-rays pass through soft tissues and are not reflected back, these are the black parts of the image.

 

 

 

Does Soma Sell Portable X-Ray Machines?

You bet Soma sells portable X-ray machines! We have all of the above options listed on our website, as well as spare parts for each of them. Something unique about Soma TECH is that we allow customers in the United States to rent portable C-arms. We are one of the only companies that rent out C-arms. Click here to look at all of our portable X-ray machine rentals.

Requesting a Portable X-Ray Machine

Soma Tech has a large team of territory sales directors who can assist you and your company in medical equipment procurement. Our employees have many years of experience in outfitting hospitals and surgery centers. Click here to see which of our sales representatives serves your area. You can call 1-800-GET-SOMA, or send an email to s[email protected] for more info as well.

 X-Ray Machine Spare Parts

Soma Tech INTL sells spare parts for all of the equipment that we sell, including C-arm spare parts. We have a large inventory of other spare parts for categories such as anesthesia machines, c-arms, ventilators, ultrasound machines, and many more. You can click here for our Soma Parts Website, for a complete listing of all of the spare medical parts that we sell. You can place an order of spare parts through a request for pricing in the shopping cart. you can also call 1-800-GET-SOMA, or email [email protected].

Final Thoughts

Did you know that Marie Curie was one of the first people to use a portable X-ray machine? Are you more astounded by how this early technology helped patients, or are you more impressed that she also was responsible for identifying 2 elements, Radium, and polonium, on the periodic table? Have you ever used an X-ray machine? Do you have a go-to brand that you have customer loyalty to? Are there any features that you would change, or some that you would improve upon? Have you ever used a product from the Axia brand before? Comment below!