In 1914, Marie Curie’s work on radium stopped in its tracks as the reality of World War I approached. Undaunted, Curie sent her entire stock of radium to a local bank by train and embarked on a new project – using her knowledge of radiology to save soldiers’ lives. The problem Curie identified was that wounded troops needed the latest X-ray technology to quickly diagnose broken bones and find shrapnel such as bullets. But all of the X-ray machines were in hospitals, in large cities. This presented a major obstacle for fast diagnosis, decision making and lifesaving action to be taken.