Electronics in medicine: Imaging technology: A European survey: New devices and techniques provide more revealing images for medical diagnoses

After a physician talks to a patient and gets a medical history, he may wish to “see” inside the patient's body. Although surgical investigation is sometimes the only way to determine exactly what a medical problem is, or the extent of that problem, physicians are relying increasingly on various electronic diagnostic instruments to extend their senses: Among such instruments are ultrasonic scanners, thermographic devices, radionuclide imaging, endoscopic instruments, and microscopes. But yet another technique — X-ray imaging — has acquired particular popularity. Recent developments, such as computerized three-dimensional image generation and sophisticated digital image-processing systems, together with electronic picture processing, are enabling higher image quality while underscoring the need for an economically viable technology for bulk picture storage.