A team of four space tourists orbited the North and South Poles earlier this month, marveling at the views of Earth. Meanwhile, a group of Canadians celebrated an X-ray image taken aboard the spacecraft using technology developed at the University of Waterloo.
The SpaceX Dragon capsule, chartered by bitcoin investor Chun Wang, took part in the historic journey. The three-and-a-half day trip was the first human space flight to circle the globe above the poles and the first Pacific splashdown in 50 years.
After sharing a post on X, Wang shared the first medical X-ray image taken in space, featuring a hand with a ring. The image mirrored the first ever X-ray image accidentally captured over a century ago by Wilhelm Roentgen.
Amol Karnick, CEO of KA Imaging, said that being able to do X-rays in space is a big deal. The company’s X-ray receiver can monitor bone mineral density in astronauts and diagnose problems on equipment or spacecraft repairs. It can also differentiate between bones and soft tissue, which could be useful for diagnosing pneumonia or cancers.
Karnick expressed concerns about natural background radiation from space affecting the quality of the image before seeing the first images, which seemed to have no issues. The same technology can revolutionize imaging in remote and underserved areas on Earth.
The crew wasn’t X-ray technicians, so Karnick and others had to teach them how to use the equipment, which included a portable X-ray generator produced by Chicago-based MinXray. The team is grateful for the development, saying it will make life in space safer and better.
Source: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/science/article-canadian-company-ka-imaging-claims-first-x-ray-image-taken-in-space