The first CT scanner was invented by Sir Godfrey Hounsfield in EMI Research Laboratories in Hayes, Middlesex (extremely close to where we currently conduct our CT scans) and was announced to the public in 1972.

Although the technology has advanced remarkably since 1972, with faster and more precise scanners, the basic principles of CT scanning is similar.

A CT scanner uses multiple x-rays to build up a detailed image of an object in multiple slices.

Objects are carefully placed on the CT scanning table and are imaged by the x-rays as they pass through the scanner ‘ring’.

The data generated from these multiple simultaneous x-rays are processed by a computer to reconstruct images slice by slice so that they can be viewed in 2D or 3D on a computer monitor.

X-rays are a form of radiation but these cause no structural or visible damage to objects constructed from materials such as wood, stone, metal or terracotta.

 

Dr Andrew Gogbashian checks an object before it passes through the CT scanner ‘ring’ to be imaged

‘Post-processing’ CT scans on the computer workstation