Radiation Effects"Then" (1959) in ACR Movie

[Orion1111@AOL.COM]

Recent posts regarding radiation effects "now and then" reminded me of a 45  

minute movie sponsored by the American College of Radiology in 1959 and  

moderated by Dr. Richard H. Chamberlain, then chairman of the Department of  

Radiology at the University of PA.  As Dr. Chamberlain states in the 16 mm  cine, 

the movie presents the "substance of what is known about the biological  effects 

of x rays" (at that time).  The movie, entitled "Radiation:  Physician and 

Patient" was intended for physicians  (non-radiologists) to help educate them in 

the safe use of  X rays in  medical applications and was shown for the first 

time during the 1959 AMA  Meeting in Atlantic City. Although the information 

is hopelessly out of date  and naive by today's standards, it is of historical 

interest because of  the appearances of and presentations by experts of the 

time including  Raymond Zirkle, Austin Brues, Shields Warren, Lianne & William 

Russell, H.J.  Mueller, Lauriston Taylor, Edith Quimby and various clinicians 

at the University  of PA.  All have passed on except for Taylor who is living 

at  102.  (I played a very minor role by operating a geiger counter detecting  

background radiation). As far as I know, I had the only surviving copy of the 

45  year old film which I turned over to the archives of the Radiation 

Oncology  Department at UofP in 2002.  I did make videotaped copies for the  archives 

of the AAPM and ASTRO.  If anyone is interested in a DVD  copy, please 

contact me OFF LIST.

 

Robert O. Gorson

3729 Greenbriar Drive

Columbia, SC, 29206

803-790-5087

_orion1111@aol.com_ (mailto:orion1111@aol.com)