By 1915, radiology was a burgeoning field of scientific interest, but most of the experts were concentrated in the big eastern U.S. cities. The Western Röntgen Society was formed by five radiologists who got together in St. Louis to establish their own platform for exchanging ideas. In December of that year they put together a meeting which was attended by 30 of the 62 charter members. Four years later, the group had grown to include members across the U.S. and parts of Canada, and was renamed the Radiological Society of North America.

Layers of interpretation


X-ray has also been used to see inside the minds of geniuses. Not just to look at their internal structures necessarily, but to actually see the creative process behind some of their greatest achievements. One such example is the X-ray images taken of Pablo Picasso's "The Old Guitarist," which reveal a complete painting of a mysterious young woman underneath it.

If the shoe fits

In the 1940s and 1950s there were X-ray units in almost every shoe store in the U.S. The machines were used to get a direct look at the fit of the shoe while a potential customer was trying it on. The primary component of these machines was a fluoroscope which produced an image that could be seen through three viewing ports at the top of the cabinet. By 1970 the systems had lost their momentum and were banned in 33 states, but in their heyday an estimated 10,000 were in use.

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