HS101: History of Technology

Kamal Kumar Choudhary

kamal@iitrpr.ac.in
Key milestones of 20th century

▪ William Einthoven devised the first

electrocardiograph in 1903 to measure
the electrical changes during the beating
of heart. Still used in diagnosis of
cardiovascular diseases

Enderle and Bronzino, Introduction to Biomedical Engineering, III Ed, 2012 2

 Key milestones of 20th century
▪ W. K. Roentgen discovered “new kinds of rays
(or X-rays, 0.01-10 nm) in 1895 and fully
functional unit was made public in 1904
▪ It opened the human body to inspection. Initially
used to detect bone fracture and dislocations
▪ The impact of this technology was so powerful
that very hospital around the world was forced to
establish a radiology department
▪ By the 1930s, X-ray visualization was possible
for all organ systems using barium salts as
Wikipedia radiopaque material

Enderle and Bronzino, Introduction to Biomedical Engineering, III Ed, 2012 3

 X-Rays
X-Rays or X-radiation as a form of electromagnetic radiation. German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen (in 1895) discover X-
Rays.

These powerful waves of electromagnetic energy having wavelength ranging from 0.01 to 10 nanometres,
corresponding to frequencies in the range 3 × 1019 Hz to 3×1016 Hz and energies in the range 100 eV to 100 keV.

https://room7tp.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-electrom
spectrum.html

When high-velocity electrons collide with the metal plates, producingenergy as the X-Rays and furter absorbed by the
metal plate itself.

The X-Ray beam travels in straight line through the air/vaccum and comes in contact with the body tissues, and
produces an image on a metal film.

These X-Rays cannot pass through the dense materials like bone and absorb the radiation whereas, soft tissue like
organs and skin, cannot absorb the high-energy rays, and the beam passes through them.
 White areas show the denser tissues, such as bones that have
absorbed the X-Rays .

black areas on an X-Ray represent areas where the X-Rays have

passed through.

Helpful to detect the breakage in human bones without any incision.

 Ultrasonography

Ultrasound is a medical imaging technique that uses high-frequency sound waves (i.e above
human hearing ranhe 20KHZ) and their echoes to create images of the inside of the body.

Technique is similar to the SONAR used by submarines, echolocation used by bats, dolphins,
and whales.
Ultrasound is used in many different fields. This is routinely used to measure the size of fetus and can
be helpful to monitor the overall growth of baby.
In cardiology this is used to detect any of heart abnormalities and to monitor the blood flow through
the heart and major blood vessels.

Also used to detect gall and kidney stone, appendidicities etc

 Computed Tomography (CT)

➢CT, is a computerized x-ray imaging procedure in which a

narrow beam of x-rays is aimed at a patient from different
angles

➢Signals received are further processed by the associated machine’s computer to generate cross-sectional images/
slices of the body. These slices are called tomographic images .

➢Once a number of successive slices are collected by the machine’s computer, they can be digitally “stacked”
together to form a three-dimensional image of the patient .

➢In order to see certain structures more clearly , a contrast dye is used. Like for abdominal abnormalities patient are
asked to have to drink a barium meal which can give white on the scan as it travels through the digestive system. A
contrast agent is injected into the veins of patients to get images of blood vessel.
➢Advantages- These images provide more detailed information than conventional x-rays. Can be used to visualize
the soft tissues, Chest, heart, blood vessels, abdomen and bones in various parts of the body. The CT scanner’s X-ray
detector can see hundreds of different levels of density. It can see tissues within a solid organ

➢Accurate diagnostic information about basic structures and abnormalities associated with particular body part.
(improve contrast of image, can diffrentiate the small contrast in tissue)
 Key milestones of 20th century
▪ First blood transfusion was carried out in 1914. During
this time, fresh donors were bled and the blood was
transfused while it was warm

▪ Blood type differentiation and use of sodium citrate to

prevent clotting was already known by this time
First blood transfusion in 1914
▪ However, blood banks were not fully operational until the
1930s due to the lack of adequate refrigeration

Wikipedia
Enderle and Bronzino, Introduction to Biomedical Engineering, III Ed, 2012 1
0
 Key milestones of 20th century
▪ Drinker respirator was introduced in 1927

▪ Heart-lung bypass was performed in 1939

▪ Cardiac catheterization and angiography (cannula threaded

through an arm vein and into the heart with the injection of
radiopaque dye for X-ray visualization of lung and heart
Heart lung bypass, Wikipedia
vessels and valves) were developed in 1940s

▪ Accurate diagnosis of heart valve disorders became possible

in 1940s

Angiography, Wikipedia
Enderle and Bronzino, Introduction to Biomedical Engineering, III Ed, 2012 11
 Key milestones of 20th century
▪ After visualizing organs, visualizing small cells was the
next logical step and it was made possible with the electron
microscope, which entered the scene in 1950s

▪ PET (positron-emission tomography) technology became

available in 1961

▪ It detects pairs of gamma rays emitted indirectly by a

PET, Wikipedia
positron-emitting radionuclide (tracer, fludeoxyglucose)
introduced into the body on a biologically active molecule

▪ Commonly used to detect tumors, particularly metastases

(spread to other organs)

Enderle and Bronzino, Introduction to Biomedical Engineering, III Ed, 2012 12

 Key milestones of 20th century

CT scanner, Wikipedia
MRI, Wikipedia
▪ Thanks to continually advancing computer technology, new medical imaging techniques
such as computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) became
available in 1970s

Enderle and Bronzino, Introduction to Biomedical Engineering, III Ed, 2012 13

 Key milestones of 20th century

▪ The second world war brought a range of

innovations in drug, rehabilitation engineering, and
prosthetics fields
▪ Due to advances in medical care technologies, more
soldiers were returning home alive but disabled
▪ This increase in need, combined with a surge in
new material development, led to tremendous growth
of assistive technologies after the second world war
Wikipedia
Enderle and Bronzino, Introduction to Biomedical Engineering, III Ed, 2012 14
 Key milestones of 20th century
▪ Program to replace heart with an
artificial heart is ongoing

▪ Heart valve became available in

1960s

▪ An implantable ventricle assist

device (VAD) became available

▪ A temporary option for patients

waiting for a full heart transplant

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/vad

Enderle and Bronzino, Introduction to Biomedical Engineering, III Ed, 2012 15

Key milestones of 20th century
▪ Organ transplantation is a procedure in which an organ is
removed from one body and placed in the body of a recipient, to
replace a damaged or missing organ
▪ The first successful transplant operation was done with kidney in
1954, which was followed by liver transplantation in 1967, and
heart transplantation in 1968

Enderle and Bronzino, Introduction to Biomedical Engineering, III Ed, 2012 16

 Links
▪ Learn more about various medical technologies and their uses discussed during this lecture.
Please visit the following link:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/

▪ Watch following videos on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2mpgwGRJyw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnAgA_8P8-g

Enderle and Bronzino, Introduction to Biomedical Engineering, III Ed, 2012 17

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Dr. Yashveer Singh and Dr. Arpana Kumari for their help with
slides, input and further discussions.
THANK YOU!