X-rays were discovered in 1895, but only four years later, one of the first hospital-based X-ray departments was established at the Forth Banks Infirmary, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. From records kept between 1899 and 1902, contemporary X-ray equipment and some scientific detective work, it has been possible to create a picture of the radiographic techniques of the time and compare them to modern practice. The consequences of working with X-rays before radiation protection measures were established are discussed, and it is argued that, far from barbaric experimentation on patients, the early radiographic techniques were optimised remarkably well considering the very basic nature of the equipment available in the earliest days of hospital radiology.
 
With Dr John Kotre
Consultant Clinical Scientist, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals

6pm