Computed tomography, commonly called a CT scan and formerly known as computed axial tomography, is a medical imaging technique that combines a rotating X-ray source and detector array with computer reconstruction algorithms to produce detailed cross-sectional images of the body's interior. The technology was developed in the 1970s, and British electrical engineer Godfrey Hounsfield shared the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with South African-American physicist Allan MacLeod Cormack for the development of computer-assisted tomography. Because it does not rely on a magnetic field, CT can be used safely on patients with metallic implants for whom magnetic resonance imaging would be contraindicated.
Facts
Discovery Year Discovery Date DiscovererGodfrey N. Hounsfield and Allan M. Cormack 1 Classification
Type/Classification FAQs
Who received the Nobel Prize for computed tomography and when was the first patient scanned?
Cormack and Hounsfield shared the 1979 Nobel Prize; the first patient was scanned in 1971.
Allan MacLeod Cormack and Godfrey Hounsfield shared the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the introduction of computed tomography. The first clinical scan came earlier, on October 1, 1971, when a woman with a suspected brain tumor was examined.
Connections
Associated With
Discovered By
Source Allan MacLeod Cormack (Wikipedia)
Hounsfield built the first CT scanner in 1971; Allan Cormack shared the 1979 Nobel Prize
Sources
1. Wikipedia: History of Computed Tomography
Wikimedia FoundationHistory section, Nobel Prize award
For the introduction of computer tomography, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly to Allan M. Cormack and Godfrey N. Hounsfield in 1979.
History section, first clinical scan
The scanner was installed at Atkinson Morley Hospital, and on October 1, 1971, the first patient-a woman with a suspected brain tumor-was successfully examined.
entity description, Computed Tomography
Computed tomography, commonly called a CT scan and formerly known as computed axial tomography, is a medical imaging technique that combines a rotating X-ray source and detector array with computer reconstruction algorithms to produce detailed cross-sectional images of the body's interior.
View the Source Allan MacLeod Cormack (Wikipedia)
Discovered By: Allan MacLeod Cormack, Lead paragraphQuote, Discovered By: Allan MacLeod Cormack, Lead paragraph
won the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (along with Godfrey Hounsfield) for his work on X-ray computed tomography (CT)
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