Medical Seminar: Prof. Dr. Stephan Schmidt

Image of Human Nature and the Medical Imaging Techniques

In difference to the seminars for Humanties or Social Sciences which seek to make the anthropologic spectrum of imaging in principle a subject of discussion and doing this are making leeways to abstraction of the available pictures, this seminar concentrates on the concrete pictorial presentations as they have been developed by image-creating medical techniques. On account of the tearing pace of the technical development during the last years a lot of medial patterns and perspectives have multiplied in which our own bodily existence has been explored. This development led from the traditional Roentgen rays to Ultrasonic, CT scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI/MRA), nuclear medicine (e.g. positron emission tomography, PET) and angiography up to IR-imaging and laser-imaging. The anthropologic relevance of these patterns emerged from a dual matter of fact. On the one hand the corporality of man became a central category of interpretation for the philosophical anthropology as well as for concrete empirical images of human nature. But in the second place the indexing of these images of ourselves is being treated academically and science-sociological by the department of medicine and, respectively, by the established physicians. The reason why the image-creating medical techniques are named in the first place is obvious because of the already mentioned medial options of these images. In contrast to the verbally expressed descriptions and theories image-creating techniques seem to ensure an immediate apprehension and understanding as they are literally descriptive; the necessary contexts of their comprehension (with good or bad reason) can temporally be ignored. The second reason why these techniques are thus trustworthy and authentic is because they appear to be the prime example of an exact empirical reality-apprehension. And finally they are on account of their presentiveness widespread in the medial world and they can influence the daily life awareness, e.g. when thinking of images of foeti in the popular literature about pregnancy. Based on these characteristics one must not underestimate the formative influence of technically generated images of the human body which go beyond their basic medical function in the narrower sense.

With image-creating techniques exactly those physical effects of a certain subject area are illustrated which has been surveyed and investigated by technical equipment. In most cases a probing by about X-rays or radioscopy is needed; but these images are by all means a product of certain questions. Herein the question is asked which insights and problems are followed by the development of the particular techniques of image-creation. What development (Hardware and Software) is currently promoted? Is it necessary that every technique has an effect on the therapy and intervention or will the diagnostic account meet all requirements?

Compared to all the other applied images also those taken for medically treatments acquire their conciseness and functionality by an intensifying of certain pictorial elements and aspects and the blinding out of others. But who decides about the selection and what are the criteria? Does such a selection not scale down the authenticity of the images and their epistemological value?
In addition to those fundamental and picture theoretical problems a lot of functional questions have to be taken into account. What defines a “good” picture? What role does the aesthetics of images play? After which criteria do software producers adjust the demands of design (colour, structure etc.)? What is the difference between two dimensional and three dimensional images; where are they applied, what is their different benefit and additional value? Does it make sense when three dimensional images are used for medical education by means of simulation? To which extent are computer aided designs used for case studies on the internet? What is the exact difference between model and image?

Participants