Dear AuntMinnie Member,
This week brought sweet news to radiology, as the 2003 Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded to two men who were instrumental in the early development of MRI: Paul Lauterbur and Sir Peter Mansfield.
The award was no major surprise to anyone familiar with their accomplishments: Lauterbur and Mansfield have frequently been mentioned as Nobel candidates over the years.
Lauterbur conceived the idea of creating a two-dimensional picture by introducing gradients into a magnetic field and analyzing the characteristics of emitted radio waves. Working independently, Mansfield demonstrated how the signals could be mathematically analyzed, laying the foundation for the development of a useful imaging technique. Learn more about their accomplishments, and why they won the award, by visiting our MRI Digital Community at http://mri.auntminnie.com.
While this week’s Nobel award specifically recognizes the achievements of just two men, it is also tacit acknowledgment of the role that thousands of other scientists and clinicians have played in advancing medical imaging. Lauterbur, Mansfield, and others have helped transform medical imaging from a useful clinical tool into an indispensable research discipline that is opening new windows on the most fundamental processes of the human body.
These accomplishments are winning newfound respect for radiology in the medical and scientific communities, and imaging researchers are beginning to populate the upper levels of research institutes. Radiology’s profile will only grow as new imaging technologies and methods are developed that echo Mansfield and Lauterbur's discoveries.
Our congratulations go to Sir Mansfield and Dr. Lauterbur for this recognition of their achievements. They are an inspiration for an entire discipline of researchers striving to improve patient care and stretch the boundaries of human knowledge.
