Physics instrumentation for medical imaging

The first Nobel Physics Prize, awarded in 1901, went to Wilhelm Röntgen for his discovery of X-rays in 1895. This, and the most recent physics Nobel, to Georges Charpak last year for his detector developments, span several generations of applied science. As well as helping to launch the science of atomic physics, Röntgen's discovery also marked the dawn of a medical science - radiography - using beams of various kinds to image what otherwise cannot be seen. Ever since, physicists and radiologists have worked hand in hand to improve imaging techniques and widen their medical applications