Preliminary report on the therapeutic possbilities of the Coolidge tube / by Lewis Gregory Cole, M.D., Professsor of Roentgenology to Cornell University Medical College, New York.

  • Cole, Lewis Gregory, 1874-1954
Date:
[1914?]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Preliminary report on the therapeutic possbilities of the Coolidge tube / by Lewis Gregory Cole, M.D., Professsor of Roentgenology to Cornell University Medical College, New York. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    had been given on the skin, only VlG dose would have reached the tumor 3 inches deep, an amount of ray so small that it would not have any beneficial effect, and might even stimulate the growth. The accompanying diagram shows the position of the tube and pas¬ tilles, and includes a comparative table of the doses administered on the sur¬ face, and one, two and three inches be¬ low the surface. Experiments show that without the use of several ports of entry only % of a dose can be applied 3 inches be¬ low the surface, even when 3 m.m. of aluminum is used to protect the skin; and that without the use of a filter only Vi6 of a dose can be applied 3 inches below the surface. Vig or even % dose applied to a surface cancer would have little or no effect. Why then should one expect results on a deeper and more extensive lesion with such a small amount of ray? The second experiment, illustrated in Diagram II, indicates the wonderful possibilities of the highly penetrating rays from the Coolidge tube, filtered adequately, and administered thru 6 ports of entry by the cross-fire method. Experiment II (Diagram II) : One Coolidge tube was used, operated at a high penetration by a standard 4 K W. transformer, according to the table on the diagram. The soft rays were filtered out with 3 m. m. aluminum. Six exposures of one minute each were sufficient to obtain a full dose 3 inches below the surface. The , use of 6 ports of entry elim¬ inates the danger of burning the skin (Diagram III), so that each surface area receives only one erethyma dose. As our experiment was made on a piece of meat, this precaution was uncalled for. The experiment just described was repeated thru 10 m.m. aluminum. Fourteen minutes were required for a full dose 3 inches below the surface, using 10 m.a. current, or 140 m.a. minutes. This exposure is more than twice as long as that required thru 3 m.m. aluminum, and yet the curve of absorption of the rays, after passing thru the filter, is practically the same. Therefore, if the therapeutic efficiency is in proportion to the rays absorbed, as we have suspected, the greatest value will be derived from rays of about this penetration. It may be added by way of precau¬ tion that the Coolidge tube and cross¬ fire method should not be used for treating deep lesions to which the or¬ dinary X-ray methods have previously been applied, as it is impossible to de¬ termine how much dosage the skin un¬ derlying the lesion has received al¬ ready. The rays from the Coolidge tube are under the operator’s control to a much greater degree than the rays of radium, and when properly regulated and fil¬ tered, will prove much more effective, altho radium will always be useful for the treatment of cavities, such as the nose, throat, esophagus, rectum, cervix uteri, etc. I believe that the use of the Coolidge tube offers a greater hope for the successful treat¬ ment of cancer than anything except surgery, and that when surgery is indi¬ cated, the Roentgen rays should be used