BfS is a partner in the network "Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen-Jubiläumsjahr 2020"

The year 2020 is a double anniversary for X-ray diagnostics: not only is 27 March 2020 the 175th anniversary of the birth of Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, but 8 November also marks 125 years since Röntgen discovered "a new kind of rays" that would quickly become known as "Röntgen rays" – or, as Röntgen himself preferred, simply "X-rays". This was a groundbreaking discovery for the progress of medicine – for the first time, it was possible to look inside the human body without resorting to surgery.

Today, the rays that Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered are used in a variety of ways:

• The "Classic" X-ray image allows a quick and easy overview and helps doctors assess bone fractures or detect pulmonary abnormalities.
• In accident victims, computed tomography (CT) takes just a few minutes to provide infor-mation about the extent and severity of injuries, such as bleeding inside the skull or injury to internal organs.
• CT has also become an indispensable tool for diagnosing cancer and monitoring its progression during treatment.
• X-ray fluoroscopy can be used in a multitude of examinations and in many procedures that can eliminate the need for more extensive surgery. In cardiac catheterisation, for example, narrowing of the coronary vessels can be visualised and a stent can often be placed directly.
• Mammography can be used to make a detailed evaluation of the glandular breast tissue. Germany has introduced a mammography screening programme for the early detection of breast cancer in women between the ages of 50 and 69.
• There are also countless other applications, without which modern medicine would be inconceivable.

X-rays are a form of ionising radiation, which can damage genetic material. That is why radiation protection is particularly important for X-ray applications.

In most cases, X-ray examinations are performed at very low doses. For the purposes of practical radiation protection, a certain – albeit correspondingly low – radiation risk is assumed for every X-ray examination as a precautionary measure. From a radiation-protection perspective, the risk-benefit assessment is therefore decisive: applications are only justified if the radiation risk is low compared to the diagnostic or therapeutic benefit (so-called justifying indication).

In Germany, some 135 million X-ray examinations are performed each year, meaning that every inhabitant of Germany is X-rayed 1.7 times a year on average. This results in a radiation dose of around 1.6 millisieverts. In comparison, the average natural radiation dose received by a person in Germany is 2.1 millisieverts per year.

As the competent Federal authority in Germany, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) is also concerned that, 125 years after the discovery of X-rays, knowledge and understanding of X-rays and their effects continue to be disseminated. Accordingly, the BfS is supporting the network "Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen-Jubiläumsjahr 2020" ("Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen Anniversary Year 2020"). The cities of Lennep (now Remscheid-Lennep), the birthplace of Röntgen, and Würzburg, at whose university Röntgen discovered the X-rays in 1895, the University of Würzburg as well as societies, associations and institutions throughout Germany have teamed up to celebrate 2020 as Röntgen year. The network partners are committed to raising the profile of Röntgen and improving the understanding of X-rays.