http://www.appliedradiology.com RSS Feed on Applied Radiologyhttp://www.appliedradiology.com//Issues/2000/08/Articles/Optimizing-image-quality-in-Spiral-CT.aspxComputed tomography (CT) was first introduced into radiologic practice in 1973, heralding the birth of a new (digital) era in diagnostic radiology. Credit for the development of this imaging technology is normally given to A.M. Cormack, a South African medical physicist working at Tufts University 1 and G.N. Hounsfield, an engineer working at the Central Research Labo-ratories of the British company EMI. 2 First generation CT scanners employed a synchronous translation of the x-ray source and sodium iodide detectors in 1° increments through a total of 180° around the patient’s head. Data for two images could be acquired in about 4.5 minutes, with image reconstruction requiring an additional 20 minutes. 3 The first CT scanners incorporated a water bath for the patient, and were only capable of scanning heads. tate the visualization of vasculature, cerebrospinal fluid space, and the gas-trointestinal tract. CT now plays an important role in the evaluation of many diseases.Thursday, 21 Sep 2000 11:55:49 GMT