For radiologists, the letter "x" obviously stands for x-ray, but it's also the title of a new iPad application timed for introduction at the 2011 RSNA meeting, which begins in Chicago on Sunday.
X is for X-ray offers users 3D exploration of the interior structures of 26 everyday objects viewed in either visible light or x-rays, and rotated with the touch of a finger on the Apple iPad screen.
The new app title is based on the x-ray photography of Hugh Turvey, artist in residence at the British Institute of Radiology in London. Turvey also played a leading role in the National Health Service's (NHS) Inner Eye project at Yeovil District Hospital, an acute care facility in Yeovil Somerset in southwest England.
Commentary by American children's literature writer Paul Rosenthal adds context geared to a broad audience. Younger readers may appreciate Rosenthal's playful use of rhymes to reinforce the notion of making the invisible visible with the help of x-ray light. Objects rotate in 3D by swiping horizontally across the pad. A vertical swipe produces a smooth transition for a visible light to x-ray perspective.
The iPad app was developed in association with the British Institute of Radiology and the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT).
Published by Touch Press, X is for X-ray will be launched commercially 28 November in Apple's iTunes App Store.
