X-Ray technology in the form of the Barium Swallow used in Speech and Language Pathology

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Recommended: Discovery of X-Rays

X-ray technology is used in the field of Speech Pathology for the treatment of dysphagia through procedures like the Barium Swallow. Throughout this paper, we will look at what this form of technology is, the history of x-rays and x-ray technology, and how it is used by Speech and Language Pathologists today, specifically through the use of a procedure called a Barium Swallow.
X-rays are defined as powerful invisible rays that can pass through various objects and that make it possible to see inside things, such as the human body. (Merriam-Webster). Therefore, X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation, with a wavelength between .01 and 10 nanometers. These wavelengths are shorter than UV rays but longer than gamma rays. X-ray photons are emitted when highly excited atoms go back to their ground state configuration. X-ray machines use light photons, which can be thousands of times more energetic than a photon of visible light, allowing them to see inside the body. Typically, they focus a beam of energetic electrons on a target, like a piece of tungsten. As the electrons are decelerated, the x-rays are generated. X-ray imaging creates pictures of the inside of your body, by showing them in different shades of black and white. They are different shades because the different types of tissue absorb different amounts of radiation. Bones show up in white because the calcium absorbs the most x-rays. Fat and other soft tissue absorbs less, looking gray, while air looks black because it absorbs the least amount of rays. These rays produce a photographic, digital image of the internal composition of something, usually a part of the body.
In the beginning, X-rays were not used medically. While they began becoming very popular in t...

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...ventors. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from http://inventors.about.com/od/xyzstartinventions/a/x-ray.htm
Binns, C. (2012, December 14). What are X-rays?. LiveScience. Retrieved April 16, 2014, from http://www.livescience.com/32344-what-are-x-rays.html
Furlow, B. (2004, September 1). Barium swallow.(CE Directed Reading). Radiologic Technology, 76, 49-61.
PhD, B. M., Logemann, PHD, J. A., MD, S. M., MS, M. S., & MA, J. S. (2000). Clinical Utility of the Modified Barium Swallow. Dysphagia, 455, 136-141.
Natale, S. (2011). The Invisible Made Visible. Media History, 17(4), 345-358.
New Releases. (n.d.). Harvard Health Publications. Retrieved April 16, 2014, from http://www.health.harvard.edu/diagnostic-tests/barium-swallow.htm
Tice, M. (2007, July 1). X-Ray Technology Today: An Overview. Spectroscopy, 22, 26-28. Retrieved April 7, 2014, from http://www.spectroscopyonline.com

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