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Godfrey Hounsfield
Engineer

Godfrey Hounsfield

Famoose for

Developing practical X-ray computed tomography.

CT scanning · Whole-body scanner

Born
28 August 1919
Birthplace
Sutton on Trent
Died
12 August 2004

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Ada LovelaceRecognising what a programmable machine could do beyond arithmetic.Alan TuringHelping break Enigma and laying foundations for computer science.Grace HopperHelping make computer programming readable in English-like language.

Godfrey Hounsfield

British electrical engineer whose work made cross-sectional images of the body possible. He shared the 1979 medicine Nobel with Allan Cormack for computed tomography.

Early life

Practical experiments

Grew up on a Nottinghamshire farm and experimented with machinery and electricity. RAF radar work preceded engineering study at Faraday House.

Career

  1. 1950s

    EMI research

    Worked on electronics and computers.

  2. 1971

    Clinical scanner

    His CT system was used for a patient brain scan.

  3. 1979

    Nobel Prize

    Shared recognition for computer-assisted tomography.

Contributions

CT scanning

Combined X-ray measurements from different angles into reconstructed slices.

Whole-body scanner

Extended the technique beyond the head.

Beyond work

Outdoor interests

Enjoyed hiking and skiing. Later used his Nobel prize money to build a laboratory at home.

Sources & photo creditBiography and career ↗Biographical references ↗Additional biographical or achievement source ↗

Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.

Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.