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  3. Lung screening then and now

Imaging

Lungs in focus

Lung screening then and now

7min
Katharina Schroll-Bakes
Published on August 14, 2023

Chest X-ray showing tuberculosis of the lung, 1931
Source: W. Brednow / E. Hofmann: “Röntgenatlas der Lungenerkrankungen” [X-ray atlas of lung diseases]


From Rio to the world

Casa-Lohner-Schirmgerät von Manoel de Abreu

Manoel de Abreu’s photofluorography unit was the first device to successfully implement the idea of capturing X-ray images with a photographic camera for use in lung screening.

The video “Fluss aufwärts” [Going upstream] tells the story of a TB screening program in Mexico. To reach people in remote regions of the country, a ship equipped with a complete photofluorography unit traveled to distant villages.

Mobile lung cancer screening

If lung cancer is detected in the early stages (stage 1–2), it has a five-year survival rate of 70–90 percent. If it is diagnosed at a later stage, 85–90 percent of patients die within five years of diagnosis. 

CT-Scan vs. Röntgenbild

This bus served as a “mobile X-ray clinic.” A catalog from 1950 shows that the bus brought together all the key components of mass X-ray screening—from the X-ray unit itself to the darkroom.

mobile X-ray clinic

Four eyes are better than two

Evaluating small-format images captured during mass X-ray screening was a very laborious process, as physicians had to examine the images one by one in front of a light box using a magnifying glass. Nowadays, the evaluation of clinical images has become much easier thanks to digitalization and tools powered by AI.

Siemens Healthineers AI-Rad Companion Chest

The AI-based software AI-Rad Companion Chest CT marks lung nodules and takes automatic measurements.

Katharina Schroll-Bakes
Katharina Schroll-Bakes
By Katharina Schroll-Bakes

Expert for History Communication and Historian at the Siemens Healthineers Historical Institute 

  1. AI-Rad Companion besteht aus mehreren Produkten, die eigenständige (medizinische) Geräte sind. AI-Rad Companion ist nicht in allen Ländern erhältlich. Die zukünftige Verfügbarkeit kann nicht garantiert werden.