Henry Green Asked About Thomas Edison’s Theory on X-rays and Blindness

11/27/1896 |

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The Hartford Courant asked Henry Green for his thoughts on Thomas Edison’s theory that x-rays could be used to restore sight in blind people.

Edison’s theory was based on Edison’s observation that a man who was blind had been able to see a light by staring into a fluoroscope.
Green told the Courant that he’d put some thought into this matter and had concluded that x-rays could not heal either a lens or optic nerves that had been destroyed.
On the other hand, Green said, in cases in which there was still some function in the optic nerve it could be the case that x-rays stimulated the nerve beneficially.
W. T. Bacon, an oculist, declined to comment on Edison’s theory as he didn’t know enough about the experiment.
A. J. Wolff dismissed Edison’s theory.

Green, through Green & Bauer, sold an x-ray machine to Hartford Hospital on November 3, 1896.

Green himself was blind in one eye – he’d lost sight in one eye as a young man.
Wolff was a local doctor who had led presentations on x-rays with William Robb at Trinity College in February 1896.

Unattributed, "X Rays for the Blind: What Henry Green, Dr. Bacon and Dr. Wolff Say about the Theory," Hartford Courant, November 28, 1896, page 4.

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