X-Ray Visualization and Analysis Using Spectral Infornation

An electronic X-ray system is described which allows more information to be obtained than do the usual radio-graphic methods which lump together the effects of different wavelengths. It gives high contrast images and allows otherwise unnoticeable detail to be detected with a quantitative evaluation of composition. The system has been used to visualize a normal thyroid and analyze it for normal iodine distribution, though a thyroid gland cannot usually be seen at all in a radiograph. An analogy with a new electrocardiographic method is noted.