Marie Curie in Radiography

Marie Curie is best known for her work in radioactivity. During World War I Curie, through conversation with an eminent radiologist Dr. Henri Beclere, recognized that radiographic equipment was rarely used in the French military. When it was used, the equipment was usually in poor condition and was being used by untrained persons (Quinn, 1996). Curie stopped her work in radioactivity and started working where she was needed most, in radiology (Dewing, 1962).

The French government did not give this work any consideration. She was required to scrounge money, equipment and materials to continue the project. Manufacturers of x-ray equipment were harassed until they would provide what was needed (Dewing, 1962). In fact, Curie faced many obstacles in this endeavour, being a woman, a volunteer, and offering a service that was not offered by the military (Quinn, 1996).

Curie took radiography equipment that was going unutilized in laboratories or in the offices of doctors who had been mobilized, and installed them in hospitals. Marie knew more about medicine than most of her colleagues in physics and chemistry, as her siblings were both medical doctors. Working in radiology allowed her to use her scientific knowledge to aid those who were wounded in war (Quinn, 1996).

While working in hospitals in Paris and from radiologist Dr. Beclere, Curie learned the fundamentals of radiography. With this new knowledge, she taught volunteers of radiological technique and anatomy (Quinn, 1996). She converted her Institute of Radium into a school for radiologic technicians. Between 1916 and 1918, she personally trained 150 female technicians, in addition to American soldiers (Kelves, 1997; Dewing, 1962).
 

Curie (centre) with four of her students (Library of Congress, 1910-1915).

Marie and her seventeen year old daughter, Irene, worked to convert ordinary automobiles into mobile radiography cars, which were called "les voitures radiologique" and sometimes "petits Curies" by the French soldiers. The car's motor powered the x-ray tube. The cars would be packed with all necessary equipment and were embarked by a doctor, a technician, and a driver. Marie learned to drive with the intent of not requiring a chauffeur. She thought that a good team works inter-professionally and transcends their roles (Quinn, 1996; Kelves, 1997).
 

Curie in a mobile radiography car (Centre of History for Physics, 2010)

When the car arrives at the locale of the wounded, the team, within half an hour, unloads and installs the equipment. Then, the team gets to work, where fluoroscopy and radiography are used to examine the patient. Observations are recorded. Then, the team packs up and returns to base to get to work on their next case (Quinn, 1996).

Over the course of the war, Curie helped install 200 x-ray units for the French and Belgian armies, and provided 20 more radiography cars. Before WWI, radiology was on the fringes of medical practice. The mass involvement of radiography throughout the first world war brought radiology to the forefront of medicine (Kelves, 1997).

Center of History for Physics. (2010). Help for the wounded. Retrieved from http://www.aip.org/history/curie/brief/05_campaigns/campaigns_1.html

Dewing, S. B. (1962). Modern Radiology in Historical Perspective. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas Publisher

Kelves, B. (1997). Naked to the Bone: Medical Imaging in the Twentieth Century. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press

Library of Congress (1910-1915). Marie Curie and four of her students. Retrieved from http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1903/marie-curie-photo.html 

Quinn, S. (1996). Marie Curie: a life. United States of America: Da Capo Press

The Origin of the Radiological Technologist

Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?
- Gauguin

We all know how the story of X-rays began. Remember? On November 8, 1895, Roentgen was in his lab, passing electrical current through a Hittorf tube which was completely contained within a black cardboard box. He was testing the box for light tightness and before he had the chance to test the penetration of cathode rays through the wall of the tube, he noticed the barium platinocyanide screen glowing from across the room (Dewing, 1962, p.28). The rest is history. In a sense, Roentgen was the first radiological technologist.

Roentgen published the first paper on “A New Kind of Rays” in the Wurzburg Physical-Medical Society’s 1895 volume of “Transactions”. Within a few days, newspapers all over the world were announcing the discovery (Dewing, 1962, p.32). Almost everybody was interested in Roentgen’s discovery. Many were reproducing his experiment, everyone from the layman to the professional.

In 1896, the first textbook on radiography was published, “Practical Radiography” by H. S. Ward (Kelves, 1997, p. 304). Also in 1896, books were being published for the general reader (Trevert, 1896/1988). In the beginning, many people were practicing radiography including physicians, physicists, engineers, electricians, nurses, hospital orderlies, photographers, and con artists. By 1905, physicians had gained control of the practice of radiography (Dewing, 1962, p.83). Although, these physicians did employ assistants who worked with them in imaging patients (Dewing, 1962, p.84).

The profession of the Radiographer had been born. In 1896, Elizabeth Fleischmann became a pioneering radiographer. Fleischmann mastered the technique of radiography within a year. She opened the first X-ray laboratory in California. She was the only professional radiographer advertised in the state of California until 1910 (Palmquist, 1990). Fleischmann’s work was noted by the surgeon general to have “nice adjustment of the ray according to the density or character of the object when she desires to photograph” (Kelves, 1997, p.41). She took radiographs from a variety of angles in order to locate the injury more precisely in space (Kelves, 1997).

Fleischmann examining a patient with a fluoroscope (Palmquist, 1990).

In 1935, the formal training of student radiographers began in New South Wales in an “attempt to raise the standard of X-ray technical work and to give the skilled radiographers an adequate status” (Bentley, 2005, p. 45). This training was primarily practical. The first theoretical training began in 1917. In the 1930s, students were to complete 500 radiographic procedures unaided. In 1945, students were required 2 years of training before being able to write the examination. In time, training programs moved from hospital-based programs, into technical colleges (Bentley, 2005).

Today, many training programs have moved into Universities as an undergraduate degree, while some remain in colleges. Additionally, some Universities offer graduate level studies geared towards radiological technologists. The professional roles of radiological technologists vary geographically. Nonetheless, it is constant that the role is continually changing.

To understand the present you must understand the past. History shows us where we have been, where we are, and where we are going.

Bentley, H. B. (2005). Early days of radiography. Radiography, 11, 45-50.

Dewing, S. B. (1962). Modern Radiology in Historical Perspective. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas Publisher

Kelves, B. (1997). Naked to the Bone: Medical Imaging in the Twentieth Century. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press

Palmquist, P. E. (1990). Elizabeth Fleischmann: A Tribute. Retrieved from http://www.cla.purdue.edu/WAAW/palmquist/Photographers/FleischmannEssay.htm

Trevert, E. (1988). Something About X-rays for Everybody. Madison, WI: Medical Physics Publishing Corporation (Original work published 1896. Lynn, MA: Bubier Publishing)