Medicine: Roentgen Improved

For some time physicians have been treating cancer by exposure to the rays generated by high voltage X-ray apparatus. Unfortunately such tubes as were available required long exposure; newspapers have announced cases in which patients were submitted to the rays for as long as 24 hours. Numerous attempts have been made to devise tubes which would permit the use of currents up to 50 milliamperes at 250,000 volts. Such a tube has now been developed. The new X-ray tube is water-cooled and is about twelve times as powerful and efficient as were previous tubes. By its use, tedious three and four-hour X-ray applications may be reduced to 15 or 18 minutes; the usual treatment will require five to ten minutes. The clinical efficiency of the tube has been determined by Dr. James T. Case, Battle Creek, Mich., a leading roentgenologist. More than 500 tests have been conducted.