X-rays have been used to reveal living skeletons since the turn of the 20th century, but recent technological advances have substantially improved both the images and the potential for interpreting them.

Digital detectors can pick up soft tissue as well as bones; today's imaging software can show both components in a single picture. Since trauma to the neck sometimes damages more than just bones, combined images like this one allow a radiologist to look for soft tissue that might block the patient's airway.