Magnetic resonance imaging of the body

Abstract

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has been applied successively to problems in physics, chemistry and biochemistry since its independent discovery in 1946 by Purcell and Bloch. By the early 1970s interest was being shown in its application to medicine, when Damadian (1971) published results to show that the spin lattice relaxation time in cancer was less than that for normal tissues. However, the breakthrough had to await the suggestion of Lauterbur (1973), also a New York physicist, that nuclear magnetic resonance could be used to create images. This was quickly taken up by a physics group in Nottingham who published the first high resolution NMR cross-sectional image of an intact lemon in 1977. The potential of the technique was obvious, however there were many sceptics who felt that the tremendous technical difficulties in producing an image of the human body were insurmountable. Undaunted, the Nottingham group continued their work and were joined by the Hospital Medical Physics Department in Aberdeen. This group produced whole body cross-sectional images in 1980 (Edelstein et al. 1980). By now a number of medical imaging companies had become acutely interested ? the race was on.