World’s first CT scan for brain was performed on this day in 1971 in UK; read details

The world’s first CAT or CT brain scan was performed on this day, i.e. October 1, in 1971 at Atkinson Morley Hospital, Wimbledon, UK. Hailed as the biggest medical breakthrough since the stethoscope and the discovery of x-rays, the brain scan was performed by Sir Godfrey Hounsfield and Dr Jamie Ambrose. The CT scanning was a revolutionary technology that dramatically improved patient safety by providing a non-invasive method to diagnose illness. 

CT scanning is used to create 3D images of human organs. A CT scanner sends x-rays from one side of an object to the other, allowing it to calculate the density of the object it scans. The technology creates an image ‘slice’ by measuring an object’s ability to block the x-ray beam. These ‘slices’ then are assembled together and the 3D image is produced which allows clinicians to identify different tissues in the body, such as bone, muscle and tumours. 

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1st patient to benefit from CT scan 

A woman believed to be suffering from a brain tumour was the first patient to benefit from the CT bran scanner. The process of the first utilisation of the machine took days to complete as the device required many hours to obtain the raw data for a single ‘slice’. Afterwards, it also needed a few more days in a bid to construct an image from the acquired data.

The first CT scan on a patient was carried out at Atkinson Morley Hospital, which is now part of St George’s Hospital. Initially, the CT scanners took several days to create a still image slice of the body in the 1970s. The most modern machines now, however, take just seconds to scan the whole body. Today, the technology can provide 3D images and the machine is so fast that in many instances it can replace more invasive tests, such as angiography. 

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According to the NHS hospital, Jane Adams, a consultant radiologist, had said, “It is hard to overestimate what an absolute revolution CT was for medicine. Before CT, only really x-ray imaging was available, which could show the bones and lungs, but little else in detail".

He added, "When the first CT scan was used, the brain tissue inside the skull could be visualised for the first time, and it was soon realised that CT could be used to see the rest of the organs of the body as well”. 

(Images: @KeybornMando/Twitter)

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