Fixing the Image: Ultrasound and the Visuality of Care in Phnom Penh

Ultrasound was introduced in Phnom Penh around 1990, at the twilight of socialism and after two decades of conflict and upheaval. It has since multiplied, promising diagnostic information and better prenatal and general health care. In Fixing the Image, Jenna Grant draws on years of ethnographic and archival research to theorize the force and appeal of medical imaging in the urban landscape of Phnom Penh. She offers the concept of fixing to illuminate how ultrasound is entangled with practices of care and neglect across different domains, such as image production and the permeability of the body.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 27 September 2022
Publisher: University of Washington Press

In the bustling city of Phnom Penh, ultrasound made its debut around 1990, marking a significant turning point in the healthcare landscape. This innovative medical technology emerged at the twilight of socialism, following two decades of conflict and upheaval. Initially, ultrasound services were primarily offered in humanitarian settings and later transitioned into privatized medicine. Over time, the range of ultrasound services expanded, promising comprehensive diagnostic information and improved prenatal and general health care.

In her captivating book, Fixing the Image, Jenna Grant delves deep into the intricate relationship between medical imaging and the urban landscape of Phnom Penh. Drawing on extensive ethnographic and archival research, Grant explores the profound force and allure of medical imaging in this vibrant city. Set within the long genealogies of technology as a tool of postcolonial modernity and vision as a central aspect of skilled diagnosis in medicine and Theravada Buddhism, ultrasound emerges as a transformative technology. It offers stabilizing knowledge, eliciting desire and pleasure, particularly among pregnant women.

Grant introduces the concept of "fixing," which encompasses repair, stabilization, and a sense of addiction. By employing this framework, she sheds light on the intricate entanglements between ultrasound and practices of care and neglect across various domains. Fixing the Image thus provides a valuable method for studying technological practice in terms of the specific materialities and capacities of technologies, particularly image production and the permeability of the body. Through this lens, Grant illuminates how images serve as a tangible form of engagement between patients, patients and their doctors, and patients and their bodies.

This book offers a rich and nuanced exploration of the multifaceted roles that medical imaging plays in shaping healthcare practices and experiences in Phnom Penh. By examining the ways in which ultrasound is intertwined with practices of care and neglect, Grant provides valuable insights into the complex dynamics of technology, medicine, and society. Fixing the Image is a must-read for anyone interested in the intersection of technology, health, and culture, offering a thought-provoking and empathetic perspective on the evolving landscape of healthcare in urban contexts.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780295750613