Thomas Edison manufactured the first commercial fluoroscope in 1896. The first mobile C-arm was manufactured in 1955 by Philips, and was a model BV 20. It had a single viewing screen on the image intensifier that permitted only one person to view at a time, and the information was relayed verbally to the surgeon. The next advance came in 1958 when a "television chain" was added to the BV20, making it viewable by everyone in the OR.