GE Portable X-Ray Unit
date: label: date made
content: 1920s
name: label: maker
content: General Electric Company
notes: label: Description
content: A "G.E." Portable Coolidge X-ray Outfit used by Charles A.[lexander] Waters (1888-1961), U. S. radiologist, in the 1920's. Waters graduated from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1911, and was associated with the Department of Roentgenology (Radiology) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) throughout his career. He is remembered today for the "Waters View" - a radiographic view of the skull from an angle under the chin which gives a view of the maxillary sinuses. The other two donors are Whitmer B.[ennett] Firor (died 1979), also a JHU radiologist, and James K.V. [Knox Van Arsdale] “Pat” Willson (1923-2019), a prominent radiologist at the Mobile Infirmary from 1962 to 1992. Dr. Willson served a residency in the JHU Department of Radiology.
label: Description
content: During WWI, General Electric produced portable X-ray machines for the U. S. military using the Coolidge X-ray tube. This experience provided the impetus for the company to become a full-time supplier of X-ray equipment after the war. In 1920, the company merged with Victor Electric Corporation, one of the first and largest x-ray tube manufacturers in the United States, to help meet the growing demand for Coolidge tubes.
label: Description
content: The “G.E.” Portable Coolidge Outfit was introduced in 1920. According to early advertisements the unit attached to any 110-volt electric socket and was easily moved from room to room. It could be “dismantled in 5 minutes into four parts for transportation to patient’s homes or surrounding towns. Total weight, packed for carrying, 123 pounds.”
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Medicine
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Whitmer B. Firor, M.D., Charles A. Waters, M.D., and James K. V. Willson, M.D.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MG.M-07045.07
label: accession number
content: 217378
label: catalog number
content: M-07045.07
objectType: label: Object Name
content: x-ray machine
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: cr7148: 65 in x 55 in x 34 in; 165.1 cm x 139.7 cm x 86.36 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: x-ray machine: 53 1/2 in x 18 in x 30 in; 135.89 cm x 45.72 cm x 76.2 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: power source: 15 5/8 in x 13 3/4 in x 7 1/4 in; 39.6875 cm x 34.925 cm x 18.415 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: container: 17 in x 12 in x 2 1/4 in; 43.18 cm x 30.48 cm x 5.715 cm