Nobel Prize for CT and MRI pioneers - Minnis Journals

Nobel Prize for CT and MRI pioneersThe Radiographer ­Angeles Times, a few days after the awards were announced.’‘It had been clear for some time that there would be a prize forMRI, because of the impact that it has had, but it was not clearwho would be included’ says Stephen Keevil of Guy’s Hospital inLondon. ‘I am sure however, that Lauterbur and Mansfield deservethe prize.’ Keevil says that he has some sympathy for Damadianbut points out that the prize appears to have been awarded specificallyfor Lauterbur’s and Mansfield’s work on the use of magneticfield gradients saying: ‘Damadian has made major contributionsto MRI but not in this specific area.’In particular, Damadian’s work was centred on establishing T1and T2 relaxation times for healthy and diseased tissues. In March1972, he applied for a patent for an ‘Apparatus and Method forDetecting Cancer Tissue’. Subsequently, Damadian built an NMRimaging scanner that he called the ‘Indomitable’. In 1974, hereceived the patent and started a company called FONAR (FieldFocused Nuclear Magnetic Resonance). For this contributionto MRI, Damadian received the National Medal of TechnologyAward in 1988 from President Reagan. This award is the highesthonour bestowed by the President of the United States to notableinnovators in the US, see www.technology.gov/Medal/default.htm.Dr Damadian was inducted into the National Inventors Hallof Fame in 1989, for his pioneering work. For more informationon his work, the interested reader should refer to an article inScientific American 3 as well as the following web sites that wereactive at the time of writing this article:www.fonar.com/nobel.htm and;www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/36.html.In 1993, an article that appeared in Diagnostic Imaging 4 entitled‘Is there a Nobel Prize in MRI’s Future?’ included variousopinions from several expert scientists and radiologists includingLauterbur, Ernst, Young, and Smith. From the perspective of theauthor of this brief paper, the opinion of Dr Francis Smith, professorand consultant in nuclear imaging in Scotland, providesa reasonable framework for awarding the prize. Dr Smith statedthat: ‘If the prize were given on the basis of who was first, thiswould make a mockery of what came afterwards. There are aboutnine key players, but I think that it would be fair if the prize wereshared in three ways: Damadian for his ideas, Lauterbur for showingthat they were possible, and Mansfield for further developingthe concept’. 4for their work that help physicians diagnose, treat and manage awide range of patients’ medical problems.This article serves to impress upon us there is significant valuein the study of not only the physics of imaging but the engineeringaspects as well. These are the many tools we use to produce diagnosticimages, so that our patients can benefit from our wisdom.AcknowledgmentThe author would like to express his sincere thanks to AnthonyChan, M.Eng., M.Sc., P.Eng., C.Eng., C.C.E ; Program Head andFaculty of the Biomedical Engineering Department at the BritishColumbia Institute of Technology, Burnaby, Canada; for his carefulreview of the manuscript.References1 Bushong S. MRI: Physical and Biological Principles. Third Edition. 2003;Mosby, Inc.2 Cartlidge E. MRI pioneers share medicine prize. Physics World 2003; 16 (6).3 Profile of Raymond Damadian. Scientific American 1997; 32–4.4 Nobel Mistake? Controversy overshadows recognition of MRI’s scientificprominence. Diagnos Imaging 2003; 42–9.Further readingDallessio KM. RSNA Preview; Nobel Prize awarded for discoveries leading toMR imaging. Appl Radiol 2003; 66.Gore J. Out of the Shadows-MRI and the Nobel Prize. New Engl J Med 2003;349 (24): 2290–2292.Mattson J and Simon M. The Pioneers of NMR and Magnetic Resonance inMedicine: The Story of MRI. Bar-Ilan University Press 1996.Ritter M. Doctors win Nobel Prize for MRI discoveries. Vancouver Sun. 2003;October 7th: A7.www.nobel.se/medicine/laureates/2003/lauterbur-cv.htmlwww.scs.uiuc.edu/chem/lauterb.htmwww.beckman.uiuc.edu/faculty/lauterbu.htmlwww.nobel.se/medicine/laureates/2003/mansfield-cv.htmlwww.nottingham.ac.uk/~ppzwww/staff/Mansfield_P_t.htmlwww.magres.nottingham.ac.uk/~mansfield/www.technology.gov/Medal/default.htmwww.fonar.com/nobel.htmwww.invent.org/hall_of_fame/36.htmlConclusionIt is interesting to note that the Nobel Prize for Physiology orMedicine has been awarded to physicists, chemists, and engineers,