1 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:12,879 Speaker 1: Welcome to Tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Heydarreon Welcome 2 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:16,000 Speaker 1: to Tech Stuff, I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm an 3 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:21,680 Speaker 1: executive producer with iHeart Podcasts and How the Tech Are You? So? 4 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:26,720 Speaker 1: Over the holiday weekend on December thirtieth, twenty twenty three, 5 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 1: I had the occasion to get my very first CT scan. 6 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:36,320 Speaker 1: This was because I was experiencing a medical emergency. More 7 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:39,120 Speaker 1: on that later, because it's actually going to impact this 8 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:44,159 Speaker 1: show a bit, and I'm still struggling under a a 9 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:47,479 Speaker 1: few nasty effects today, so it's a little bit of 10 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:53,000 Speaker 1: a chore to do this and stay coherent. But this 11 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:57,400 Speaker 1: is first and foremost a tech podcast, not a Jonathan's 12 00:00:57,400 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: All Messed Up podcast, and by golly, I owe you 13 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 1: episode about something technical. So I thought, Hey, I've never 14 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:06,400 Speaker 1: had a CT scan before. How about I do an 15 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:10,000 Speaker 1: episode on CT scanners. Now. I have talked a bit 16 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 1: about related medical technologies on the show, like X ray 17 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: machines and MRI machines, and I've talked about tomography with 18 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 1: regard to three D printing. That's what the T in 19 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:25,320 Speaker 1: CT stands for, stands for tomography. The C in case 20 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:29,920 Speaker 1: you're curious, stands for computed so CT is computed tomography. 21 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:33,480 Speaker 1: But unless you work with that kind of technology, knowing 22 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 1: that probably doesn't help you out very much. To understand 23 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: CT scans, we need to have a quick reminder about 24 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:43,360 Speaker 1: X rays. Now. I've talked a decent amount about X 25 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 1: rays not that long ago, because I did an episode 26 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 1: about how in the early twentieth century shoe shops used 27 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 1: cabinets containing X ray lamps essentially, and then some viewfinders 28 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: that would let customers see their own feet while their 29 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:02,440 Speaker 1: feet are still inside their shoesies. Well, there are plenty 30 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:06,000 Speaker 1: of reasons to suspect this was perhaps an unwise marketing campaign. 31 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:08,960 Speaker 1: After all, it did have the potential to seriously harm 32 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 1: customers and more likely shoe store staff. The trend actually 33 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:17,519 Speaker 1: stuck around for an alarmingly long time. Anyway, there's a 34 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:21,720 Speaker 1: whole episode about this from November. It is titled AI 35 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: and Radioactive Shoes Salesman if you want to learn more 36 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:29,520 Speaker 1: about that. Also, I don't think I did this on purpose, 37 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 1: but the episode that published about those shoe salesmen went 38 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:37,160 Speaker 1: out on November eighth, twenty twenty three, and we traced 39 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: the discovery of X rays back to November eighth, eighteen 40 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 1: ninety five. So I recorded a podcast about X rays 41 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 1: one hundred and twenty eight years to the day after 42 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:51,080 Speaker 1: their discovery. I don't remember doing that on purpose, so 43 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:53,960 Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure it was just pure luck. We have 44 00:02:54,000 --> 00:03:00,080 Speaker 1: a nineteenth century smarty pants named Wilhelm Conrad Rintgen to 45 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:03,519 Speaker 1: thank for X rays. Well, not exactly, because X rays 46 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 1: are a type of electromagnetic radiation and they exist whether 47 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:09,679 Speaker 1: or not. Rentgen figured it out, and surely someone else 48 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 1: would have susted out if he hadn't. There were other 49 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:15,359 Speaker 1: people who were kind of looking around the area at 50 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: the time. But the point is Rentgen did it, and so, 51 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 1: gosh darn it, he deserves the credit for it. So 52 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: Rentgin was experimenting with what was called a Crook's tube, 53 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:27,360 Speaker 1: a glass bulb inside which there were a pair of 54 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:30,520 Speaker 1: electrodes that could be run at high voltage, essentially a 55 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 1: cathode ray tube, and it also was filled with more 56 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:38,040 Speaker 1: or less a vacuum. So he had covered up this 57 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 1: tube with some heavy black cardboard. But then he saw 58 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: that there was a sheet of platino barium in his 59 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: lab that was several feet away, like nine feet away, 60 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 1: and it was glowing while the tube was active, but 61 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 1: there was no visible light passing from the tube because 62 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 1: the cardboard was covering it up. So this got into wondering, 63 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: how could this tube illuminate something if the light was 64 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: being blocked by cardboard. Clearly, some form of energy was 65 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 1: passing directly through the cardboard as if it weren't there, 66 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 1: just as visible light can pass through a pane of glass. 67 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: It wasn't long before he found out that this energy 68 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:18,960 Speaker 1: could pass through human tissue as well. In fact, it 69 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,680 Speaker 1: was the very same day his wife famously held her 70 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:25,920 Speaker 1: hand up and he was able to take a photograph, 71 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:29,359 Speaker 1: an X ray photograph of her hand. So if you 72 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 1: were to hold up your hand between the tube and 73 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,479 Speaker 1: the sheet of platino barium, then you would cast a 74 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:40,279 Speaker 1: shadow that would show the skeletal structure of your hand, 75 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:43,039 Speaker 1: and you would have sort of a hazy area that 76 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:45,760 Speaker 1: would be other tissue in your hand. It didn't take 77 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:49,800 Speaker 1: long at all before various doctors, engineers, and scientists purposefully 78 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:53,320 Speaker 1: began to build devices to take X ray images projected 79 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:58,039 Speaker 1: again onto special film, not necessarily a sheet of platino barium, 80 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: and this would let them get a little and see 81 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:06,280 Speaker 1: stuff like bones and other kinds of tissue that normally 82 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:10,240 Speaker 1: you know are on the inside of a person. As 83 00:05:10,279 --> 00:05:13,159 Speaker 1: it turns out, X rays have much shorter wavelengths and 84 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:17,279 Speaker 1: much higher frequencies than visible light. So if you're looking 85 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:20,239 Speaker 1: at the electromagnetic spectrum and you go from the types 86 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:22,680 Speaker 1: of radiation that have the smallest wavelengths and you work 87 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 1: your way up, it starts at gamma radiation, then X ray, 88 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:31,160 Speaker 1: then ultraviolet, then visible light, then infrared, then microwave, than 89 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:35,800 Speaker 1: radio from smallest to longest wavelengths, and X rays are 90 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:39,679 Speaker 1: a type of ionizing radiation, along with some other forms 91 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:44,560 Speaker 1: of radiation, like gamma radiation is also ionizing. Alpha and 92 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:47,200 Speaker 1: beta particles are ionizing. There are a few others. So 93 00:05:47,279 --> 00:05:51,200 Speaker 1: ionizing radiation is radiation that has the energy required to 94 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:56,039 Speaker 1: strip electrons away from atoms right that can ionize an 95 00:05:56,080 --> 00:06:02,279 Speaker 1: atom by removing electrons. This also can potential damage living cells. 96 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,760 Speaker 1: So most X ray radiation passes through a human body, 97 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:09,800 Speaker 1: but some of it can end up getting absorbed and 98 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:14,880 Speaker 1: potentially it can cause harm, potentially serious harm, and this 99 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:19,680 Speaker 1: potential increases with increased exposure. This is why radiologists set 100 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 1: up a machine to take X rays and then they 101 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:24,200 Speaker 1: leave the room before they start snapping photos of your inerts. 102 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:29,039 Speaker 1: By the way, we can contrast this with non ionizing radiation. 103 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:32,560 Speaker 1: That is radiation that lacks the energy needed to strip 104 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:36,359 Speaker 1: electrons away from atoms. So your plain old radio waves, 105 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:39,120 Speaker 1: you know, the stuff that we use to communicate on 106 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:44,560 Speaker 1: cell phones and Wi Fi routers and radio and television 107 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 1: broadcast TV, that's non ionizing radiation. Those big transmitter towers 108 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:53,000 Speaker 1: might look intimidating, but they do not have the same 109 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:57,160 Speaker 1: effect as ionizing radiation sources do. So when you hear 110 00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:00,640 Speaker 1: people talk about the potential dangers for things like cell 111 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:04,359 Speaker 1: phone signals, you do need to know that the energy 112 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:08,160 Speaker 1: of those signals is orders of magnitude lower than what 113 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:10,440 Speaker 1: you would find with ionizing radiation like X ray and 114 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 1: gamma rays. That's not to say that it's a guarantee 115 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:18,480 Speaker 1: that it's perfectly safe, just that based on that one 116 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:22,960 Speaker 1: particular vector, you are not seeing an effect. Right. It's 117 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:24,880 Speaker 1: not like if you sit too close to the TV 118 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,960 Speaker 1: you get cancer or something, at least not directly from 119 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:31,400 Speaker 1: sitting close to the television. All right, So we have 120 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:35,640 Speaker 1: the basics with the X ray. You've got a tube 121 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:38,760 Speaker 1: similar to a cathode ray tube, and it emits X 122 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: rays when you pass a high voltage current through the 123 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 1: filament inside the tube. It's kind of like a light bulb, 124 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:47,200 Speaker 1: but instead of giving off visible light or say ultraviolet 125 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: light with a UV light, it gives off X rays. 126 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 1: So the cathode focuses these X rays so that you 127 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:58,120 Speaker 1: can actually direct them properly. And then with an X 128 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:00,520 Speaker 1: ray machine on the opposite side from where the X 129 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:04,480 Speaker 1: ray tube is, you have a detector. Now, once upon 130 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:07,440 Speaker 1: a time, the detector was a sheet of film, right 131 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 1: like it was contained within something else, and you would 132 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 1: just take a photo and the X rays would go 133 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 1: through the person and hit the film behind them, and 134 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 1: then you develop that film and you've got your image 135 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:21,880 Speaker 1: of the X ray. But now a lot of X 136 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 1: ray machines have digital detectors. They have a sensor on 137 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:28,400 Speaker 1: the other side that picks up those X rays, so 138 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:32,000 Speaker 1: you're not actually capturing stuff to film, you're capturing it digitally. 139 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:35,640 Speaker 1: And then once that's gone through, once the X rays 140 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 1: have passed through and they've hit either the film or 141 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:42,280 Speaker 1: the sensor, then you have a radiologist and doctors who 142 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:45,960 Speaker 1: can look at and interpret the results. They can look 143 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:50,000 Speaker 1: at the image and determine what's going on inside. Now, 144 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:53,120 Speaker 1: the reason that I'm talking about X rays instead of 145 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:57,839 Speaker 1: CT scanners is that a CT scan is a specialized 146 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:00,400 Speaker 1: kind of X ray. A CT scanner is an X 147 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:03,679 Speaker 1: ray machine. Now you've likely seen one of these, either 148 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:07,920 Speaker 1: in person or in media. Typically it looks like you 149 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,040 Speaker 1: have like a little kind of white wall, like it's 150 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:15,400 Speaker 1: a machine where part of the machine is a vertical 151 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:18,120 Speaker 1: barrier kind of like a wall, and the center of 152 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:20,959 Speaker 1: it is a large hole large enough for a person 153 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:23,920 Speaker 1: to be passed through the middle of that hole, and 154 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:28,200 Speaker 1: extending out from it is a motorized bed if you're 155 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:31,240 Speaker 1: feeling generous. I thought of it just as like a 156 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:34,360 Speaker 1: table or platform, because there was nothing bed like about it. 157 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:37,160 Speaker 1: When I was on it. I laid down on this 158 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:40,160 Speaker 1: platform in my case, and a technician positioned me so 159 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:44,239 Speaker 1: that my head was at the right spot at the 160 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:47,079 Speaker 1: beginning of the hole in the center of this vertical barrier. 161 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:49,240 Speaker 1: So it's like I was slowly being fed into a 162 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:52,240 Speaker 1: doughnut hole as the process was going on. But this 163 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:55,680 Speaker 1: hole is a housing for an X ray tube and detector, 164 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:58,160 Speaker 1: and the reason for its shape. The reason why you 165 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:00,960 Speaker 1: have this round hole that you're being passed through is 166 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:03,360 Speaker 1: that the ct scan is taking a series of X 167 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:07,959 Speaker 1: ray images in a circle around you. It snaps a shot, 168 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:11,000 Speaker 1: and then the mechanism rotates inside the vertical barrier. It 169 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:13,760 Speaker 1: snaps another shot, and it does this very very very fast. 170 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:16,840 Speaker 1: If you could see through the machine, like the machine 171 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:19,480 Speaker 1: can see through you, you'd see that an X ray 172 00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:22,600 Speaker 1: tube might start at a location such as directly overhead. Right, 173 00:10:22,679 --> 00:10:26,160 Speaker 1: you're looking straight up, you can see the X ray tube, 174 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 1: and then after it takes a picture, it moves slightly. 175 00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:32,320 Speaker 1: Let's say it moves clockwise from your perspective, and so 176 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:35,560 Speaker 1: it's moving down the perimeter of the hole. From your perspective. 177 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:38,680 Speaker 1: You're keeping your eyes straight up, and eventually you would 178 00:10:38,679 --> 00:10:42,280 Speaker 1: see the detector directly above you as it rotated one 179 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:45,360 Speaker 1: hundred and eighty degrees. So it does this a bunch 180 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:47,720 Speaker 1: of times until it has essentially gone around you, and 181 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:51,040 Speaker 1: then what results is a series of X ray images 182 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:54,040 Speaker 1: of part of your body. So in my case, it 183 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:57,960 Speaker 1: was monogan, and you get it from various angles. The 184 00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:01,400 Speaker 1: CT scan generates a series of two dimensional quote unquote 185 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:05,160 Speaker 1: slices of whatever it's imaging, and these slices can range 186 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:09,120 Speaker 1: between one to ten millimeters thick. The actual thickness depends 187 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:13,439 Speaker 1: upon the specific machine in use. More than that, after 188 00:11:13,559 --> 00:11:16,560 Speaker 1: gathering a full slice image, the machine can move the 189 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:19,480 Speaker 1: motorized platform forward a bit, a little further into the 190 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:22,480 Speaker 1: machine and the process can repeat. And this way the 191 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:25,840 Speaker 1: engineers can collect the number of slices needed for whatever 192 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:28,160 Speaker 1: is going on, Like if they're trying to image an 193 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:31,680 Speaker 1: entire organ, then they will keep doing this until they've 194 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:34,360 Speaker 1: hit all the slices that make up that organ. Now 195 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:38,120 Speaker 1: the images are pretty darn cool. You can look at 196 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:41,160 Speaker 1: each slice individually. That's useful if you suspect there could 197 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:44,480 Speaker 1: be something concerning in there, like a mass that shouldn't 198 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:47,480 Speaker 1: be there, for example, or you can stack them together 199 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:51,720 Speaker 1: and then collectively, with these stacked slices, you can create 200 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:54,559 Speaker 1: a three D image of whatever it was you were scanning. 201 00:11:55,040 --> 00:11:58,120 Speaker 1: So that means there's a hospital here in Atlanta that 202 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:01,560 Speaker 1: has a three D scan of my brain. And no, 203 00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:03,559 Speaker 1: I didn't think to ask if I could have a copy. 204 00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:05,800 Speaker 1: In fact, I don't. I don't know if I actually 205 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:08,400 Speaker 1: want to see it. That might freak me out to 206 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:11,320 Speaker 1: see my own brain. All right. Anyway, now you have 207 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:14,600 Speaker 1: a basic idea of how a CT scanner works. We're 208 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:16,199 Speaker 1: gonna take a quick break. When we come back, I'm 209 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:19,920 Speaker 1: gonna answer a few other questions relating to CT scanners, 210 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:23,280 Speaker 1: some interesting facts and trivia. But before we do that, 211 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:35,640 Speaker 1: let's take a quick break to thank our sponsor. Okay, 212 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:39,960 Speaker 1: so we talked a bit about computed tomography, But what 213 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:43,840 Speaker 1: the heck does tomography mean? So tomography is using some 214 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:48,240 Speaker 1: form of penetrating energy or wave to section a three 215 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:50,760 Speaker 1: dimensional object, which is pretty much what we talked about 216 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:54,400 Speaker 1: with the imaging process just now. But there are different 217 00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:58,600 Speaker 1: types of tomography. It's not all X rays. Uh. For example, 218 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:01,960 Speaker 1: I once recorded an episode about how using a particular 219 00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:07,160 Speaker 1: kind of photosensitive resin and a machine that used tomography, 220 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:10,120 Speaker 1: you could three D print objects. So in this case, 221 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 1: it's not about taking photos of a three dimensional object. Rather, 222 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:18,800 Speaker 1: it's about directing light at precise angles and positions so 223 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:22,640 Speaker 1: that this photosensitive resin solidifies when the light hits it, 224 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:26,360 Speaker 1: and you can get a very precise three D printed 225 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:30,200 Speaker 1: object from this. So a computer controlled light source zapp's 226 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:32,400 Speaker 1: the resin over and over again, and then you end 227 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:35,280 Speaker 1: up with a three D printed object. It's pretty darn cool, 228 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 1: is not like your desktop three D printer type thing. 229 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:42,199 Speaker 1: There are lots of other applications for tomography as well, 230 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:44,719 Speaker 1: but I think most folks who have heard the term 231 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:48,440 Speaker 1: think of the medical device. So who the heck came 232 00:13:48,559 --> 00:13:51,600 Speaker 1: up with this? Well, that credit goes to an engineer 233 00:13:51,679 --> 00:13:56,120 Speaker 1: named Godfrey Houndsfield, and he actually didn't work in medical 234 00:13:56,160 --> 00:13:59,760 Speaker 1: tech at all. Rather, he was employed by Electric and 235 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:06,280 Speaker 1: Musical Industries aka EMI. You know the record label, the 236 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:09,160 Speaker 1: same company that produced records for the Beatles, because of 237 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:13,000 Speaker 1: course that's who did it. But I'm not giving Housefield 238 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:15,240 Speaker 1: enough credit. It sounds like he was sitting there working 239 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:18,360 Speaker 1: on like turntables and cassette players. That was not the case. 240 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:22,200 Speaker 1: Before he worked for EMI. Houndsfield had worked on radar 241 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:25,800 Speaker 1: technology for the Royal Air Force, and while at EMI, 242 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:28,040 Speaker 1: he wasn't trying to make sure I want to hold 243 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:31,480 Speaker 1: your hand played at just the right speed on a turntable. 244 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:38,400 Speaker 1: He was developing guided weapons systems for EMI. That, my friend, 245 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:42,840 Speaker 1: is what you call a diversified portfolio. So the story 246 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:45,320 Speaker 1: goes that back in the nineteen sixties, Houndsfield was on 247 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:47,760 Speaker 1: vacation when he got into a conversation with the doctor, 248 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,840 Speaker 1: and the doctor explained that it was really hard to 249 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:53,480 Speaker 1: get a good X ray image of the human brain. 250 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 1: Images were limited to two dimensions, and often the quality 251 00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:00,480 Speaker 1: was pretty low and grainy. So Houndsfield goes on his 252 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:02,840 Speaker 1: merry way, but he keeps thinking back to this issue. 253 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:05,560 Speaker 1: Could there be a way to create a device that 254 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:08,960 Speaker 1: could produce better X ray images of structures like the brain? 255 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:12,520 Speaker 1: He essentially identified all the elements that would be needed 256 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:15,320 Speaker 1: in order to accomplish that goal. There would need to 257 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:19,160 Speaker 1: be some way to either rotate the patient, which frankly 258 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:23,000 Speaker 1: didn't seem very practical, or rotate the X ray apparatus, 259 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:25,600 Speaker 1: which seemed more achievable. There would also have to be 260 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:30,120 Speaker 1: a computer system programmed to assemble individual images together to 261 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:34,440 Speaker 1: create a three D image. These were non trivial challenges 262 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:36,920 Speaker 1: and it took him a long time, working with lots 263 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:39,600 Speaker 1: of other very smart people to make it happen, but 264 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:44,960 Speaker 1: he partnered with various neuroexperts. In nineteen seventy one, he 265 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,040 Speaker 1: and his team were able to build and test a 266 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:50,880 Speaker 1: CT scanner and produce the first CT scans of a 267 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:54,920 Speaker 1: human brain. Houndsfield actually received a Nobel Prize in Medicine 268 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:57,720 Speaker 1: for his contributions, and countless people have benefited from the 269 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:02,080 Speaker 1: technology since its first introduction. A CT scan can help 270 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:05,400 Speaker 1: doctors identify potential health threats like blood clots and tumors 271 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:09,240 Speaker 1: if you're scanning the brain. Obviously other stuff too. Anyway, 272 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:12,000 Speaker 1: that's just a quick overview of how CT scans work. 273 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:15,000 Speaker 1: And I apologize that this is a short episode, but 274 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:17,640 Speaker 1: I am a bit limited when it comes to researching, writing, 275 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:20,240 Speaker 1: and recording at the moment. And that brings me to 276 00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:23,600 Speaker 1: why I had to have a CT scan on December thirtieth, 277 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:27,800 Speaker 1: twenty twenty three. So I've had migraine headaches on and 278 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:30,280 Speaker 1: off for a few years, but usually I just get 279 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:32,680 Speaker 1: a couple each year, like maybe like three or four, 280 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:36,120 Speaker 1: maybe five or six on a really bad year. But 281 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:39,720 Speaker 1: late last year I started getting them more frequently and 282 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:42,920 Speaker 1: I was generally feeling pretty bad. And on December thirtieth, 283 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:47,400 Speaker 1: I was feeling really bad. And normally I would just 284 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:50,560 Speaker 1: kind of try and sit things out because I'm not 285 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:53,200 Speaker 1: good about going to the doctor, but something felt so 286 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:56,160 Speaker 1: wrong that I've changed my mind, so my partner and 287 00:16:56,160 --> 00:16:59,280 Speaker 1: I actually headed off to the urgent care center, so 288 00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:01,440 Speaker 1: they're the urgent care center. They took my blood pressure 289 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:05,120 Speaker 1: and it was off the charts, not literally, I mean 290 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:07,040 Speaker 1: literally it was in the neighborhood of two sixty five 291 00:17:07,080 --> 00:17:09,760 Speaker 1: over one thirty. But if you're familiar with blood pressure, 292 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:14,080 Speaker 1: you know that is crazy high. They urged me that 293 00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:16,480 Speaker 1: I should go to an emergency room. They explained I 294 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:20,120 Speaker 1: could be at risk of a stroke. So off we 295 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:24,760 Speaker 1: rushed to the closest hospital and I check in and 296 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:27,800 Speaker 1: before long I'm brought into the CT scanner room and 297 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,000 Speaker 1: that's where I got my brain's pictured. I also was 298 00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:34,560 Speaker 1: given an EKG for the first time, and if I 299 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:36,920 Speaker 1: ever were to consider shaving my chest, it would be 300 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:39,160 Speaker 1: because I'd be told I'd need to do another EKG, 301 00:17:39,359 --> 00:17:42,840 Speaker 1: because y'all you could call me patches. Now, let's put 302 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:46,760 Speaker 1: it that way. It is not kind to the chest here. Anyway, 303 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:48,760 Speaker 1: the doctors looked after me. They told me that the 304 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:51,600 Speaker 1: EKG and the CT scans looked pretty good. There was 305 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:53,840 Speaker 1: nothing there to be of immediate concern. I was not 306 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:57,640 Speaker 1: having a stroke, but my high blood pressure is absolutely 307 00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:01,080 Speaker 1: a problem. And they gave me a mic grain cocktail, which, 308 00:18:01,119 --> 00:18:02,800 Speaker 1: despite the name, did not make me feel like I 309 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:05,240 Speaker 1: was in The Great Gatsby or anything like that, and 310 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:07,200 Speaker 1: they gave me some meds to bring my blood pressure 311 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:10,639 Speaker 1: down a bit. Now I'm currently on a blood pressure 312 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:13,080 Speaker 1: medication while I wait to see my doctor, which I'm 313 00:18:13,119 --> 00:18:16,080 Speaker 1: gonna do in literally a couple of days. My hope 314 00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:18,800 Speaker 1: is that my doctor and I can find a medication 315 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:21,119 Speaker 1: and a dosage that will help bring my blood pressure 316 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:24,400 Speaker 1: down to normal levels, because right now, the medication they 317 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:27,320 Speaker 1: have me on it's still having me deal with abnormal 318 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:31,120 Speaker 1: levels of blood pressure, and I'm still having really bad 319 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:35,480 Speaker 1: migrain headaches. I can't even lie down because if I 320 00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:37,480 Speaker 1: put any pressure on my head, if my head hits 321 00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:41,040 Speaker 1: a pillow or anything like that, the pain becomes intolerable. 322 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:43,439 Speaker 1: It just it adds to the pressure. So I haven't 323 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:48,200 Speaker 1: really slept much for the last few days. Anyway, this 324 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:51,320 Speaker 1: isn't a poor Me episode. I'm telling you all this 325 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:54,320 Speaker 1: for a few reasons. One is that one of the 326 00:18:54,359 --> 00:18:57,880 Speaker 1: many things I need to do in order to deal 327 00:18:57,920 --> 00:18:59,800 Speaker 1: with my blood pressure is I have to adjust my 328 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:02,560 Speaker 1: stress levels, and to that end, I have arranged to 329 00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:05,240 Speaker 1: reduce my publication schedule for tech stuff a little bit, 330 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:08,440 Speaker 1: so I had been publishing five times a week seven 331 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:10,400 Speaker 1: times a week toward the end of twenty twenty three, 332 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:13,240 Speaker 1: but I'm going to switch back to three times a week, 333 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:15,719 Speaker 1: which longtime listeners will know that's what I used to do, 334 00:19:16,119 --> 00:19:18,159 Speaker 1: but I'm going back to that. And my thought is 335 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:21,479 Speaker 1: that if I can get things in a good rhythm, 336 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:24,439 Speaker 1: I want to do two standard Tech Stuff episodes and 337 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:27,320 Speaker 1: then on Fridays maybe do a news round up episode. 338 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:30,359 Speaker 1: I also still have a ton of classic episode intros 339 00:19:30,359 --> 00:19:33,000 Speaker 1: and outros recorded and ready to go, so my hope 340 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:35,679 Speaker 1: is to actually reserve those for days when either my 341 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:39,920 Speaker 1: health isn't cooperating and I simply cannot record, or if 342 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:43,000 Speaker 1: maybe I'm on vacation or something. So I hope you 343 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:45,440 Speaker 1: all understand for at least a month or two, we're 344 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:48,159 Speaker 1: going to have a lighter schedule than normal. And the 345 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:50,280 Speaker 1: other reason I'm telling you all all this is because 346 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:52,600 Speaker 1: I'm one of those folks who very reluctantly goes to 347 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:55,639 Speaker 1: the doctor. I have no good reason for this. I 348 00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:57,879 Speaker 1: got a lot of really bad reasons, but none of 349 00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:01,560 Speaker 1: them are good. They range from en Zo to being 350 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:04,000 Speaker 1: used to a time when my partner and I could 351 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:06,040 Speaker 1: not easily make our way to the doctor. So we 352 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:09,760 Speaker 1: did without. But the point is, I have these resources 353 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:12,040 Speaker 1: available to me now, and it's dumb for me not 354 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:14,280 Speaker 1: to take advantage of them. And I realized lots of 355 00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 1: people aren't fortunate to be in a position where they 356 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:20,080 Speaker 1: can easily seek medical care, and it's insulting that I 357 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:22,879 Speaker 1: took it for granted when I did so. Had I 358 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:25,080 Speaker 1: been going to a doctor regularly, I might have caught 359 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:28,439 Speaker 1: the blood pressure problem ages ago. I could already be 360 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:30,879 Speaker 1: treating it. Maybe I would have prevented the trip to 361 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:33,200 Speaker 1: the er, as well as the terrible migraines that I'm 362 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:36,280 Speaker 1: fighting now. So this is really just me urging all 363 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:39,520 Speaker 1: of y'all out there. I love you guys. Okay, if 364 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:42,399 Speaker 1: you have access to doctors but you're not really taking 365 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:45,960 Speaker 1: advantage of it, please consider getting out of that rut. 366 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:49,359 Speaker 1: I know it's hard because I've been there. I was 367 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:51,680 Speaker 1: in that same rut for years and it was actually 368 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:54,240 Speaker 1: a matter of great shame to me. It was hard 369 00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:58,440 Speaker 1: to even think about. I knew rationally that I needed 370 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:01,080 Speaker 1: to be going to a doctor, and yet I wasn't 371 00:21:01,359 --> 00:21:05,040 Speaker 1: doing it. And so I'm paying for that now. And 372 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:08,600 Speaker 1: I realize that not everyone has that kind of access, 373 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:11,479 Speaker 1: and that stinks. I'm fully in support of making healthcare 374 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:15,840 Speaker 1: accessible and affordable to everyone. It's not just the right 375 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:18,440 Speaker 1: thing to do for the individual person, it also ends 376 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:22,200 Speaker 1: up being right for society. Because healthy people are more productive, 377 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:25,200 Speaker 1: then they place less of a demand on society's resources. 378 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:28,520 Speaker 1: So healthcare is an investment that actually does pay off 379 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:33,080 Speaker 1: for everybody, not just the patient. But enough of my soapboxing, 380 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:36,639 Speaker 1: so there may be some inconsistency with publication in the 381 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:39,400 Speaker 1: near future. My plan is to publish on Mondays, Wednesdays, 382 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:43,600 Speaker 1: and Fridays, but there may be days where I slip earlier. Today, 383 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:46,040 Speaker 1: for example, I couldn't even imagine sitting at my desk 384 00:21:46,119 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 1: and writing or recording this episode. I was in way 385 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:51,920 Speaker 1: too much pain. But my hope is that once my 386 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:54,280 Speaker 1: doctor and I dial in the meds I need, and 387 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:57,359 Speaker 1: I start making some lifestyle changes that help support those meds, 388 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:01,080 Speaker 1: I'll be back to normal, or as close to normal 389 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:04,840 Speaker 1: as I get anyway. In the meantime, thank you all 390 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:07,600 Speaker 1: so much for listening. I hope you have an amazing 391 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:10,439 Speaker 1: new year, and I promise that I'll talk to you 392 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:21,000 Speaker 1: again really soon. Tech stuff is an iHeartRadio production. For 393 00:22:21,119 --> 00:22:25,960 Speaker 1: more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 394 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.