New Books Network Daniel K. Sodickson, "The Future of Seeing: How Imaging is Changing the World" (Columbia UP, 2025)
Oct 3, 2025
Daniel K. Sodickson, a physicist and biomedical imaging innovator, shares his insights on how imaging technology is reshaping our understanding of the world. He delves into the evolution of eyes and imaging tools, from X-rays to MRI, emphasizing their transformative value in medicine. Sodickson highlights the future of imaging with AI, discussing concepts like self-supervised learning and the Everywhere Scanner. He warns about the balance between privacy and the benefits of advanced imaging, envisioning a new stage in human evolution with enhanced artificial senses.
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Imaging As Spatial Information
- Imaging is spatially organized information that maps what is where around or within us.
- Daniel K. Sodickson argues imaging shaped science, medicine, and daily life and will do so more with AI.
The Accidental X‑Ray Discovery
- Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered X-rays accidentally by watching a glowing screen in his lab and then photographed his wife's hand.
- That first hand image, showing bones and a wedding ring, triggered global “x-ray fever.”
Tomography Unifies Imaging Modalities
- Tomography reconstructs slices by combining many projections taken from different angles.
- CT, MRI, PET, and ultrasound all use the same tomographic principle to localize internal structures noninvasively.
