I’ve enjoyed good health for most of my life. I’ve never had extended illness or any chronic conditions, and for that I’m grateful. But I’m also grateful that if I did become ill, I’d have access to the most advanced health care technologies in the world (assuming I had insurance). I’ve had only one major encounter with that technology, and that was minor surgery on my jaw when I was in high school. I went through the whole process – consultation with my doctor, a CT scan and finally the procedure itself.

While it was the surgery that corrected the problem with my jaw, it was the scan that indicated to the doctors exactly what was up. And the peculiar thing about the scan was that I didn’t come into contact with any humans at any point during the process. The scanner was automated, the voice telling me not to move was automated and even the table that moved me into position under the scanner was automated. A lot of different technologies coalesced together to make the CT scanner possible. Linear actuators in particular play a very important role, because a lot of movement is required in order for a CT scan to function.

Starting with the table I was laying on, linear actuators moved me into the scanner. They had to be powerful enough to overcome the resistance of my weight on the table but compact enough to keep the scanner to a reasonable size. Many miniature linear actuators within the scanning mechanism itself positioned all of the functioning elements of the system so it could zap my head as needed. Then the table actuators pulled me back out when the procedure was over, and I could be on my way. Linear actuators play an essential role in all kinds of high-tech applications, and I have seen first-hand how helpful they can be.