Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34729383›Full record

ArticleJournal of medical imaging (Bellingham, Wash.)2021

How CT happened: the early development of medical computed tomography.

Raymond A Schulz, Jay A Stein, Norbert J Pelc

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of medical imaging (Bellingham, Wash.), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
41citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

41 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Thrombolysis for pulmonary embolism: A network meta-analysis.Journal of the Intensive Care Society · 2026
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  13. New imaging techniques and trends in radiology.Diagnostic and interventional radiology (Ankara, Turkey) · 2025
    Review
  14. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Raymond A SchulzVarian, A Siemens Healthineers Company, Palo Alto, California, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6567-838X
Jay A SteinHologic, Inc., Marlborough, Massachusetts, United States.
Norbert J PelcStanford University, Department of Radiology, Stanford, California, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8922-8989

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

As we arrive at the 50th anniversary of the first computed tomography (CT) scan of a live patient, we take this opportunity to revisit the history of early CT development. It is not an exaggeration to say that the invention of CT may represent the greatest revolution in medical imaging since the discovery of x-rays. We cover events over a period of about two decades that started with the realization that accurate cross-sectional soft-tissue detail is possible and could be a significant advance. We describe in some detail the development of the first CT system and then the rapid technical advances during the following years that included the entry of many companies into the field and the circumstances that led many of those entrants to exit the field. Rather than focusing on the specific technical details (which can be found elsewhere), we include stories and events in the hope that broader lessons can be learned. As the first x-ray-based digital imaging modality, CT brought into common use an exceptional tool that benefits countless patients every day. It also introduced dramatic changes to biomedical imaging as a field that continues to influence progress to this day.

Indexed as

computed tomographyearly historytechnical development

Identifiers

PMID34729383
PMCPMC8555965

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.