Mihran Kassabian
A pioneering investigator of medical X-rays
Mihran Kassabian was an Armenian American physician whose career developed in the years following the discovery of X-rays. Born in Kayseri in 1870, he pursued medical education in the United States. In Philadelphia, his work became closely associated with exploring the medical possibilities of the new technology.
Kassabian worked when X-ray imaging was only beginning to enter hospitals. He investigated diagnostic and therapeutic applications, refined imaging methods and shared practical experience with physicians. His substantial 1907 textbook, Roentgen Rays and Electro-Therapeutics, brought together the knowledge and techniques of this formative period.
Prolonged radiation exposure seriously damaged his health, and he died in 1910. His life illustrates both the development of medical imaging and the occupational hazards faced by early radiologists, at a time when effective protection standards were still taking shape.