Magnetic resonance imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - also called magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) - is a method of creating images of the inside of opaque organs in living organisms as well as detecting the amount of bound water in geological structures. It is primarily used to demonstrate pathological or other physiological alterations of living tissues and is a commonly used form of medical imaging. MRI has also found many niche applications outside of the medical and biological fields such as rock permeability to hydrocarbons and certain non-destructive testing methods such as produce and timber quality characterization http://www.mri.cl/index.pl/industrial_stud#355.

Nobel prize (2003)

Reflecting the fundamental importance and applicability of MRI in the medical field, Paul Lauterbur and Sir Peter Mansfield were awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discoveries concerning MRI. Lauterbur discovered that gradients in the magnetic field could be used to generate two-dimensional images. Mansfield analyzed the gradients mathematically. In a controversial decision, the Nobel Committee snubbed MRI pioneer Raymond V. Damadian although Nobel rules allowed for the award to be shared with a third person. Soon after the announcement, Damadian took out expensive, full-page advertisements in major newspapers to protest the decision (New York Times ad text).

Related Topics:
Paul Lauterbur - Peter Mansfield - 2003 - Nobel Prize in Medicine - Raymond V. Damadian

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In 1974, Damadian patented the design and use of NMR (US Patent 3,789,832 http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=3,789,832.WKU.&OS=PN/3,789,832&RS=PN/3,789,832) for detecting cancer. This patent did not describe a method for generating pictures; however, in 1997, he successfully sued General Electric for infringement and received an award of $129 million. He later settled out of court for further millions from other MRI scanner manufacturers. In 1980, he produced the first commercial MRI scanner, though the machine failed to sell and was never used clinically. http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues00/jun00/object_jun00.html

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In recording the history of MRI, Mattson and Simon (1996) credit Damadian with describing the concept of whole-body NMR scanning, as well as discovering the NMR tissue relaxation differences that made this feasible. In 2001, the Lemelson-MIT program bestowed its Lifetime Achievement Award on Dr. Damadian as "the man who invented the MRI scanner".

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It is still not clear if Damadian's method of detecting cancer is working, and it is not used in modern MRI imaging and diagnostics. His description of a whole body scanner only concerned itself with searching the body for cancer, and does not discuss the use of the data for generating pictures showing different tissues. The procedure as described would take a very long time to perform. There is a big difference between this scanner and contemporary MRI machines.

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