Clinical technology · reviewed

Computed tomography

From 1971

CT reconstructs cross-sectional images from many X-ray measurements around the body.

Allan Cormack developed relevant reconstruction mathematics, while Godfrey Hounsfield built the first clinically usable scanner. The first clinical brain scan was performed in 1971 and published results followed in 1972. A computer combines measurements taken from many angles to estimate the X-ray attenuation within each part of a slice. CT replaced overlapping shadows with cross-sectional views, revealing internal anatomy and injury with a clarity that conventional radiographs could not provide.

Sources

Clearing the fog: The 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine — Joachim Pietzsch, 2026

Concept map · prerequisites lead toward this node; descendants continue outward.

Hospital staff installing a CT scanner — A newly installed computed-tomography scanner in a hospital imaging suite. Senior Airman Cierra Presentado. Public domain. Wikimedia Commons.

Direct relationships

Early radiography→Computed tomographyExtended projection radiography into computed cross-sections · high confidence
X-rays→Computed tomographyProvided CT's measured transmission signal · high confidence
Semiconductor transistor→Computed tomographySupported the digital electronics and computation required by CT · medium confidence