Professor Chris Langton

University of Hull, Cottingham Road, HU6 7RX

The bone-density scanner, now used to detect osteoporosis, was first developed at the University of Hull by a team led by Professor Chris Langton. The scanner has been recognised as one of the “100 discoveries and developments in UK universities that have changed the world”. Chris studied physics and chemistry at Hull, and when his grandma needed a hip replacement at the end of his first year in 1977, she secured him a vacation job working with her Orthopaedic Surgeon in Doncaster. During this time, the initial idea of using ultrasound to identify those at risk of osteoporosis was developed. Chris went on to do further research on this, the result being the bone-density scanner used today.