10 Medical Devices That Changed The World

Medical devices may sound like a modern invention, but they in fact have helped us manage and treat diseases for centuries. Here are our top ten picks of medical gadgets that play a significant role in our lives, many of them so ubiquitous that we sometimes take them for granted.



#4 X-RAY IMAGING

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen won the first ever Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901 for his discovery of electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range known today as X-rays.

After accidentally discovering radiation that could pass through various substances that are opaque to ordinary light, Röntgen tested his invention by photographing his wife’s hand, which clearly revealed her wedding ring and the bones in her fingers.

Since then, X-rays have had many important uses in medicine: doctors use X-rays to study our bones while dentists use X-rays to detect diseases of the teeth. X-rays are also used in radiotherapy to stop cancer cells from growing and multiplying.


Photo: Adrian Barnes/Flickr/CC.
Photo: Adrian Barnes/Flickr/CC.

Asian Scientist Magazine is an award-winning science and technology magazine that highlights R&D news stories from Asia to a global audience. The magazine is published by Singapore-headquartered Wildtype Media Group.

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