Transcript Shoe-Fitting Fluoroscopes

Shoe-Fitting Fluoroscopes
Radioactivity and Effects
By Sarah Wascura
Case Study
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Gerda Roehler Fenstermaker
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Shoe store clerk 1940’s and 1950’s
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Farr’s shoe store, Allentown
Utilized shoe-fitting fluoroscopes
 Breast cancer in 1971
 And again in 2003
 No family history – Blame?
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Local Fluoroscopes
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Allentown and Quakertown
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Farr’s, Leh’s, Hinkel & Biehn
Novelty item used to show how foot
bones fit in shoes
 Local workers have said to have battles
with cancer
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Coincidence?
Cancerous Link
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Radiation proven to alter cell structure
High levels shown to mutate cells
 Low levels used as cancer treatment
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Approximately 75% of breast cancer in
the US is traced to radiation exposure
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Mostly medical X-rays
X-rays are bad?
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Women who have a history with radiation
exposure tend to avoid more
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No dental X-rays
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No diagnostic X-rays
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IMPORTANT: No mammograms
The BIG Question
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Is there a proper link between X-rays
and cancer?
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Or is it that women who have been
exposed to X-rays do not seek proper
preventative measures against breast
cancer?
So what is a fluoroscope?
Medical equipment in doctor’s offices
 Used to see movement inside the body

Organs
 Bones

Used today to assist in the movement of
catheters into organs
 Upper gastrointestinal tract tests account
for almost half of all fluoroscopy use
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Mainstream Transition
Used after WWI to assess soldier’s feet
while still inside boots
 Introduced into society to test the fit of
shoes in shoe stores
 Children and adults could see bones of
feet inside shoes – novel concept

Components
X-ray tube is in the base of the cabinet
 Platform above tube to place foot
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Aluminum filter between foot and X-ray tube
3 eyepieces: one for child, parent, and
shoe clerk
The Shoe-Fitting Fluoroscope
Eyepieces at top
Ledge for foot to rest
Intention
“Scientifically” fit shoes to feet
Radiation Doses
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Average dose of radiation

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38.4 R per minute
High doses
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100-350 R per minute
Controlling Radiation
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Factors to control:
Output of X-ray tube
 Thickness of filters
 Distance
 Time and number of exposures
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Intensity switches
 Push-button timer (20-30 seconds)
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Regulation
American Standards Association
regulated dose to 2 R per 5 second
exposure
 Children should have no more than 3
exposures in a day
 No more than 12 per year
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The Demise
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Due to health hazards, the shoe-fitting
fluoroscope was all but gone by the early
1970’s

Since then, clerks have wondered how
their lives have been affected by this
radiation