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AXIOM Multix MT system to be used to examine fossils dating back 55 million years

In an effort to help further research into our planet’s past, Siemens Refurbished Systems business unit has donated an AXIOM Multix MT digital radiography ( DR ) system to The Field Museum in Chicago to promote its mission to gather and share knowledge about the Earth and its people. The Siemens DR system replaces an older X-ray unit that Siemens also donated to the museum in 1949.

“We are proud to be a part of the incredible work of The Field Museum and their impressive roster of researchers and staff,” said Sabine Duffy-Sandstrom, vice president, Refurbished Systems, Siemens Healthcare. “By their viewing inside these fossils and artifacts from years gone by, The Field’s research team can help us all better understand the history of our civilization, as well as our planet.”

“The new Axiom unit brings our partnership with Siemens into the 21st century with a suite of capabilities undreamed of by our staff in 1949,” said Lance Grande, senior vice president and head of Research and Collections at The Field Museum. “The new machine replaces a World War II vintage X-ray unit with a fully digital model that will greatly extend our research capabilities, especially with regard to the detailed examination of fossils, zoological materials, and archaeological specimens. This is a tremendous gift from Siemens that will enhance our research activities in a number of ways.”

Currently, the AXIOM Multix system is being used to study fossils from the Green River Formation of Fossil Basin in Wyoming. This locality contains a 52 million-year-old lake system fossilized in limestone. It is one of the world’s most productive and important fossil localities. Beautifully preserved within these limestone beds is one of the earliest major samples of plant and animal evolution since the Cretaceous mass extinction event 65 million years ago.

The new machine is also being used on artifacts from the Kish collections. Kish was an ancient city located on the floodplain of the Euphrates River about 50 miles south of modern-day Baghdad in Iraq, and dates back to 3200 B.C. This world-famous archaeological site has revealed an extremely early urbanization when The Field Museum and Oxford University held joint archaeological expeditions from 1923 through 1933.

Founded in 1893, The Field Museum is one of the world’s preeminent natural science institutes with more than 1.3 million square feet dedicated to scientific research, collections, and public education programs. The museum’s curatorial and scientific staff in the departments of Anthropology, Biology, Geology, and Zoology conducts basic research in the fields of systematic biology, paleontology, meteoritics, and anthropology, and also has responsibility for collections management, and collaboration in public programs with the Departments of Education and Exhibits.

Source: Siemens Healthcare