Representation of a function by its line integrals with some radiological implications II in Journal of Applied Physics 35, October 1964, pp. 2908 - 2913 [ORIGINAL WRAPPERS]

1st Edition. FIRST EDITIONS IN ORIGINAL PAPER WRAPS OF PART II ONLY OF ALLAN CORMACK'S SEMINAL INVENTION OF A MATHEMATICAL TECHNIQUE FOR COMPUTER-ASSISTED X-RAY TOMOGRAPHY (CAT Scans) - TOGETHER, THESE TWO PAPERS DOCUMENT THE INVENTION OF THE CAT SCAN.

Cormack's work produced the most revolutionary development in the field of radiography since the discover of the x-ray by Rontgen in 1895. In 1979, Cormack and Godfrey Hounsfield received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work in "the development of computer assisted tomography" (Nobel Prize Committee). "This was the first time that researchers trained not in the medical sciences but in mathematics and engineering received the Nobel Prize in Medicine" (Grolier Medical Hundred, 365).

Cormack's work as a theoretical physicist with a special interest in computer tomography and math drove his interest in and invention of a mathematical technique for computer-assisted X-ray tomography. Cormack's papers contain the first description of the mathematical theory of axial tomography, the method by which the varying X-ray absorption rates of tissues in the human body can be used to construct a detailed picture of the organs and soft tissues.

Computerized axial tomography, otherwise known as the CAT scan, is a process by which X-rays can be concentrated on specific sections of the human body at a variety of angles. Once this information is analyzed by a computer, it is combined to reproduce images of internal structures previously unviewable by medical technology. Cormack was the first to analyze the possibility of such an examination of a biological system, and in these papers, developed the equations needed for computer-assisted x-ray reconstruction of pictures of the human brain and body. CONDITION & DETAILS: Individual issue original wrappers, October 1964. American Institute of Applied Physics. (10.5 X 8 inches; 263 x 200mm). Fine condition. Clean and bright inside and out.