Eddy Clifford Jerman (November 21, 1865 – September 13, 1936) was an American inventor and an early expert in the techniques of
medical radiography. In the years that followed the discovery of X-rays, Jerman was one of the first people to focus on the details that created quality X-ray images, such as exposure and positioning. He served as an examiner during the initial efforts to license personnel who took X-rays. He has been referred to as "the father of radiography".
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Biography
Jerman was born on November 21, 1865 in Ripley County, Indiana
Ripley County is a county located at the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Indiana. According to the 2010 Census, the population was 28,818. The county seat is Versailles.
History
Ripley County was formed on December 27, 1816, in the sam ...
. He was the son of a physician. As a child, he became interested in the study of the batteries that powered his father's medical equipment. He attended Franklin College in Indiana, but experienced health problems in his last year and was unable to finish his studies. Jerman went to work for the Physicians & Surgeons Supply Company in Cincinnati, a medical device company. He became the shop foreman there and then created the Jerman Electric Company.[
As part of his new enterprise, Jerman manufactured a power source for other medical equipment known as a Jerman static machine. His device was the only one available that was large enough to create X-rays. When Jerman created his first X-ray image, he created an image of his own hand. He described taping his hand down with electrical tape and exposing the hand to the radiation for 30 minutes. He worked closely with Victor Electric Company in the manufacture of his machines.] Suffering from health issues again, Jerman left Cincinnati for Topeka, Kansas
Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...
, in search of a more suitable climate.
Jerman thought that insufficient attention had been paid to standardizing radiographic technique in the years since the discovery of X-ray. X-rays had been used largely for entertainment purposes in those early days and clinical techniques varied from provider to provider. He wrote that "the weakest link of the chain was technique, and the chain could be no stronger than its weakest link." By 1916, he had begun offering courses in radiography to professionals. About two years later, Jerman became the head of the education division at Victor Electric Company. In that capacity, he established 12 divisions of the company that offered classes to healthcare providers. The courses lasted between five and seven days.[
The ]American Roentgen Ray Society
The American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) is the first and oldest radiology society in the United States. It was founded in 1900, in the early days of X-ray and radiation study.
Headquartered in Leesburg, Virginia, the society publishes a monthly p ...
(ARRS) made Jerman its president in 1920 and he served several terms, becoming president emeritus in 1930. Jerman wrote ''Modern X-ray Technic'' (1928), the first textbook of radiographic techniques. It was published for several editions. He was a founder of the American Association of Radiological Technicians (now the American Society of Radiologic Technologists). Jerman served as the examiner for the first 1,000 candidates for credentialing by the American Registry of X-Ray Technicians.[
Late in his life, Jerman became interested in the application of X-rays to fields like ]botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
, zoology
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
and paleontology
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
.[ After retiring in 1934, Jerman died two years later. In his final months, he dealt with painful sequelae of frequent X-ray exposure.][
]
References
External links
American Roentgen Ray Society
The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jerman, Eddy
1865 births
1936 deaths
Radiographers
People from Ripley County, Indiana
Franklin College (Indiana) alumni
20th-century American inventors