Computed Tomography: Case Histories of Significant Medical Advances

Amar  Bhidé; Srikant M. Datar; Katherine  Stebbins

Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2019

Computed Tomography: Case Histories of Significant Medical Advances

by Amar Bhidé, Srikant M. Datar and Katherine Stebbins

Abstract

We describe how Computed Tomography (CT) scanners—that combine x-rays and computers to image soft tissues of the brain and other organs—have become a widely used diagnostic tool. Specifically, we chronicle the following: 1) development of the first CT scanner (through the early 1970s); 2) rapid and enthusiastic adoption of CT scanning (until the late 1970s); 3) regulatory backlash against the perceived overuse of this expensive technology (in the 1980s); and 4) innovations that reignited growth (in the 1990s and 2000s).

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Technological Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Technology Adoption; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Invention; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms;

Language: English

Format: Print

19 pages

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Citation:

Bhidé, Amar, Srikant M. Datar, and Katherine Stebbins. "Computed Tomography: Case Histories of Significant Medical Advances." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-004, July 2019.

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Computed Tomography: Case Histories of Significant Medical Advances

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