Raymond V. Damadian, MD, conceived the idea of using NMR (MR) to detect medical disease and proposed the MR body scanner to accomplish it. To prove its feasibility, he conducted experiments and discovered that cancer tissues produce abnormal NMR signals compared to normal tissues, with relaxation times that are markedly elevated relative to normal tissues. He also discovered that the healthy tissues themselves exhibit significant differences in NMR relaxation times*. The relaxation differences among the normal tissues supply the contrast needed to see anatomic detail that was missing in other medical imaging technologies (x-ray and ultrasound). Recognizing that the abnormal NMR signals generated by cancers could be used to detect cancers non-invasively, he went on to build the first whole body magnetic resonance scanner, which he named Indomitable, and to achieve the first MRI scan of the live human body, as well as the first scan of a patient with cancer. The tissue signals he discovered and their marked differences among the normal tissues and also between normal tissue and diseased tissue have remained the source of all MRI images today.

* The relaxation time differences between cancer tissue and normal tissue and within the normal tissues themselves were the result of differences in the mobility of the water molecules within cancer tissues, relative to their mobility within the normal tissues, and also to the differences in water mobility within the normal tissues themselves. The NMR signal decay time (relaxation time) of the water proton NMR signal is very sensitive to the degree of mobility of the highly mobile water molecules within the examined sample, e.g., the highly mobile water molecules within a sample of liquid water produce a T2 relaxation time of 3,000 milliseconds, while their immobilization in their positions in the crystal lattice of ice produce a T2 relaxation time of .019 milliseconds (a 157,000 times shorter T2 relaxation time for the immobilized water molecules of ice).

The development of the MRI was dependent on the appearance on the scene in 1969 of some MD, like Dr. Damadian, experienced BOTH in the clinical care of patients and in the technology of NMR. Up until that point, the NMR had been in use almost exclusively by chemists to perform test-tube analyses of chemical samples. The prospect of performing anything like the scan of a live human body with the existing 23 year old 2¼" NMR test-tube analyzer had never been imagined. Like any clinically experienced physician, however, Dr. Damadian was well aware of the painful experiences eventually endured by almost every physician during that time period i.e. learning unexpectedly at autopsy for the first time, of the existence of long standing and widespread fatal lesions within the body's vital organ soft tissues (e.g. brain, liver, heart, intestine, kidney…) that were being poorly visualized by the imaging technologies of the day (conventional x-ray) ¹ and going UNDETECTED. Dr. Damadian concluded that much more sensitive DETECTION of lesions, such as cancer wherever they might have spread within the human body, would mean much better monitoring of the effectiveness of the pharmaceutical regimens being employed. More sensitive DETECTION would enable the addition of new treatment agents or further dosage adjustments, if the regimens in use were proving insufficient. In fact, as it has turned out, except for the abnormal NMR signals of diseased tissue discovered by Dr. Damadian, FATAL DISEASE like cancer would not be visible or detectable by any MRI.

¹ [The CAT scan was not introduced until April 20, 1972 by J. Ambrose and G. Hounsfield at the Atkinson-Morley Hospital at the 32 Congress British Institute of Radiology in their paper "Computerized Axial Tomography (A new means of demonstrating some of the soft tissue structures of the brain without the use of contrast media)".]

MRI IS NMR RENAMED. Upon the advance of NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) technology into its medical applications, as a result of Dr. Damadian's discoveries, the medical community preferred the elimination of the word nuclear to avoid its radioactive connotations (that were non-existent) and the radiologic community sought to have the I added to denote NMR scanning as an imaging technology.

inventor of the MRI

THE TRUTH OF HISTORY, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS – THE SAME YEAR AS THE NOBEL PRIZE

inventor of the MRI

NOBEL VIOLATION OF THE TRUTH

In 2003, The Noble Prize for the MRI was awarded, not to Dr. Damadian, but to two nuclear magnetic resonance scientists. One employed a gradient, invented 50 years earlier by others, to improve the scanning method discovered by Dr. Damadian. Another was a member of a group who found a better way to use gradients to make an MRI image. Although the prize allowed for three winners, Dr. Damadian was excluded.

The award is a calculated affront to the truth of science.

It is also an affront to the WILL of Alfred Nobel, in which he specified that the award in medicine can only be given for “discovery,” not for technological improvements. (See Fig.19 Nobel Statutes)

Thankfully, the truth of history endures.

1.TWO PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES DISAGREE WITH THEM

1. President Ronald Reagan awarded the nation's highest honor in technology, The National Medal of Technology to Dr. Damadian and Dr. Lauterbur at the executive Offices of the White House in 1988 "For their independent contributions in conceiving and developing the application of magnetic resonance technology to medical uses including whole-body scanning and diagnostic imaging".

2.President George H.W. Bush inducted Dr. Damadian into The United States National Inventors Hall of Fame.
"I am pleased to send warm greetings to everyone present for the 1989 induction ceremony of the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

America must maintain its competitive edge. The challenges before our Nation are too numerous, and the stakes too high, for us to permit the eclipse of that traditional wellspring of our productive genius: our willingness to try new ideas. In the past we have risen to every challenge presented us, and I believe we can rise to the challenges of today. But only if we foster the spirit of invention.

And so I join you in saluting the memory of three great inventors being honored tonight: Westinghouse, Deere, and Langmuir. You are fortunate, I understand, to have a fourth great inventor with you: Dr. Raymond Damadian, whose medical inventions are saving lives around the world. In my association with the wonderful INVENT AMERICA! program, I have seen Dr. Damadian at work, captivating young imaginations with the fires of his own. I would not be surprised to see him joined in the Hall of Fame by some of those promising young minds. All it takes is imagination and encouragement, and he is an ideal source of both. He is living, reassuring proof that the spirit of invention continues to thrive in our great Nation.

Barbara and I join the American people in congratulating Dr. Damadian and in sending our best wishes to all of you."

2.THREE NOBEL LAUREATES DISAGREE WITH THEM

On the Accomplishment of the World's First MRI Scan of the Live Human Body 7/3/1977

Figure 25

Figure 26

Figure 27

Figue 28

3. THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL INVENTOR'S HALL OF FAME DISAGREES WITH THEM

They inducted Dr. Raymond Damadian in 1989 to join Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Samuel Morse, the Wright brothers and the other inventor legends of American history for his invention of "the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, which has revolutionized the field of diagnostic medicine".

4 . THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT (William Rehnquist, Chief Justice) AFTER 1.1 MILLION PAGES OF DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE DISAGREES WITH THEM.

The First to Propose Scanning the Human Body (1969) by NMR (MRI)

Figure 1.

The First to Propose Scanning the Human Body (Spring 1971) by NMR (MRI)

"But several years of work with NMR, together with its proven power in chemistry, have convinced Dr. Damadian that the technique WILL WORK ON SOMETHING AS COMPLEX AS THE HUMAN BODY. HE HOPES TO START PROVING HIS BELIEF BY BUILDING AND OPERATING HIS PLANNED LARGER MACHINE IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS"

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

1. R. Damadian, Tumor Detection by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Science, 19 March 1971, Vol.171, pp. 1151-1153.

Raymond V. Damadian is the medical doctor who first proposed scanning medical patients by NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance, the original name of the MRI) based on his discovery of the principle on which all modern MRI is based – that different tissues emit different NMR signals in a magnetic field. The amplitude of the signal determines the brightness of the picture element (pixel) that the MRI image is composed of.

Figure 4a.

The nucleus of the atom possesses a spin. Composed as it is of electrically charged components, protons, its nuclear spin generates a magnetic moment, i.e. the spinning hydrogen nucleus is therefore a two-pole (dipole) magnet with a north magnetic pole and a south magnetic pole. While much smaller, the magnetic fields generated by these spinning positively charged protons are analogous to the magnetic fields generated by their negatively charged counterparts, e.g. the magnetic fields generated by Faraday's induction when electrons spin or move in circular paths such as the magnetic fields generated along the axis of a circular loop of wire as electricity traverses a circular path.

When exposed to a magnetic field, these spinning nuclear magnets, e.g. the hydrogen protons of tissue water (H2O), line up with the magnetic field and quantize, i.e. separate into two populations, a low energy population that magnetically aligns parallel with the applied magnetic field of the MRI magnet and a less populous high energy population that aligns opposite (anti-parallel) to the main magnetic field. The separation into two energy groups, the low energy and the high energy group, generates the prospect of energy transitions between the two energy populations by the application of additional energy, e.g. the application of additional magnetic energy provided by an oscillating energy source such as a radio frequency. Radio Frequency signals (r.f.), are oscillating electro-magnetic fields. In the case of NMR (MR), the magnetic component of the radiofrequency signal is the component that provides the energy necessary to excite some of the low energy nuclear magnet population into the high energy nuclear population. This nuclear resonance stimulation is achieved in practice with an r.f. transmitter coil that encircles the human body to provide this oscillating magnetic energy in order to excite some of the low energy nuclei (e.g. hydrogen protons of tissue water (H2O)) to transition to the high energy population.

When the transmitter is shut off, the excited (high energy) nuclear spins emit their absorbed radio energy in order to return to their low energy equilibrium (resting) state. The emitted energy is then captured by a radio receiver coil wrapped around the human body. The excitation radiofrequency is tuned to the frequency needed to supply the exact energy (the resonant frequency) necessary to convert the low energy nuclear spins to high energy spins.

As seen in the above Figure 4a (the nuclear signal) the signal captured by the receiver coil decays over time (its "relaxation time") until the original excitation energy that excited the low energy nuclear spin into the high energy state is fully dissipated. The time to complete dissipation of the original excitation energy is called its "relaxation time". This "relaxation time" varies markedly with the local anatomic and chemical environment in which the signal generating nuclear magnet resides (e.g. the T2 relaxation time of a water proton in its liquid form is 3,000 mseconds while the same T2 relaxation time for a water proton in ice is .019 mseconds). Accordingly, the decay time (relaxation time) of the water proton NMR signal is very sensitive to any anatomic changes of tissue structure. As discovered by Damadian, the tissue structure changes in the immediate vicinity of the resonating proton that accompany tissue disease or the tissue structure variations within the normal organs themelves (heart muscle, liver, intestine, etc.— Figure 6) profoundly affect the relaxation time of this nuclear magnetic signal.

Tables 1 & 2.

R. Damadian, Tumor Detection by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Science, 19 March 1971, Vol.171, Tables 1 & 2, pp. 1151-1153. Raymond V. Damadian is the medical doctor who first proposed scanning medical patients by NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance, the original name of the MRI) based on his discovery of the principle on which all modern MRI is based — the different NMR signals that tissues emit in a magnetic field. The amplitude of these signals determines the brightness of the picture elements (pixels) that the MRI image is composed of. The black rectangle display is a summary table of the abnormal T1 signal decay times (relaxation times) of tumor tissue published in Science [Tables 1 & 2, R. Damadian, Science (1971, 171, p1151) ].

A live NMR signal such as that generated by a small tissue volume connected to an oscilloscope and an audio amplifier so that an example of an NMR signal that generates the MRI image can be directly visualized and heard. [ Click on Sine Wave to Listen ]

1. The computed strength of the signal (the amplitude) is determined by the signal's decay time (relaxation time). The longer the relaxation time the greater the signal amplitude and the greater the brightness of the picture elements (pixels) that compose the image.

1. R. Damadian, Tumor Detection by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Science, 19 March 1971, Vol.171, pp. 1151-1153. Raymond V. Damadian is the medical doctor who first proposed scanning medical patients by NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance, the original name of the MRI) based on his discovery of the principle on which all modern MRI is based — the different NMR signals that tissues emit in a magnetic field. The amplitude of the signal determines the brightness of the picture element (pixel) that the MRI image is composed of.

Figure 5.

Note the soft tissue detail visualized in the MRI image #1 of the brain that is not visualized by x-ray CT technology (e.g. the pronounced white matter-grey matter differentiation of the MRI, the clearly defined thalamic nuclei, and the well visualized subdural layers not visualized by CT). MRI image #2 shows an image of the brain where all the MR signals of the brain tissue are the same. (i.e. no signal difference from the TISSUES of the BRAIN. No grey matter -white matter differentation, no caudate nucleus, no putamen, no thalamus.) In the absence of the MR signal differences of the normal tissues discovered by Damadian (Fig.6, Fig.9) the MRI image of normal human anatomy is a blank (MRI #2).

Paul C. Lauterbur's Notebook
9-2-1971

J. Mattson and M. Simon, The Pioneers of NMR and Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Medicine: The Story of MRI Bar-Ilan University Press, 1996, Appendix, Chapter 9, B1,B2,B3.

As Lauterbur published [Cancer 57, (15 May 1986), p.1899 ]
"the attention of the medical community was first attracted by the report of Damadian¹ that some animal tumors have remarkably long proton NMR relaxation times. Efforts to reproduce these results and to explore their significance were soon under way in other laboratories."

"It was measurements that I (Lauterbur) observed Saryan carring out in SEPTEMBER OF 1971 that caught my attention." [Cancer 57 (15 May 1986) p.1899.

"When Lauterbur watched Saryan successfully repeat the Damadian experiments, he viewed the procedure with great interest and was impressed by the results"².

He (Lauterbur) Stated:
"Even normal tissues differed markedly among themselves in NMR relaxation times, and I wondered whether there might be some way to noninvasively map out such quanties within the body " [Cancer 57, (15 May 1986), p.1899

There was nothing to MAP prior to Damadian's discovery. The NMR signal differences in normal and diseased tissues necessary to forming such a MAP were not known to exist prior to Damadian's discovery of their existence¹. In their absence any such MAP would be a BLANK ! (figs. 5 and 14).

1. R. Damadian "Tumor Detection by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance"
Science, 19 March 1971, Vol. 171. pp.1151 - 1152.

2. J. Mattson and M. Simon, The Pioneers of NMR and Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Medicine: The Story of MRI
Bar-Ilan University Press, 1996, p.712, 714.

To determine if the tumor MR signal was abnormal the MR signals of the normal tissues had to be measured. Unexpectedly the normal tissues also differed markedly in their signal decay times (T1 relaxation times) e.g. the relaxation time of intestine was 257 mseconds as compared to 595 mseconds for brain (a 131% difference) with the other normal tissue relaxation times lying in between.

The result of this discovery; the pronounced relaxation time differences among the normal tissues themselves produced an unprecented visualization of anatomic detail in medical images that had never been possible before by the existing x-ray imaging technology.

Figure 7.

As can be seen in the above T1 image of the brain the NMR relaxation differences discovered by Damadian made possible the imaging of the human body at a level of detail that was unprecedented in medical history.

The grey-white matter discrimination of the brain became visible for the first time. The thalamic nuclei, the caudate, putamen and thalamus were visualized. The Dura, layers and arachnoid layers became visible where they were not on x-ray images like CT.

Figure 8.

Figure 8a-8d. Further examples of the exceptional anatomic detail made visible by the discovery of Damadian of the pronounced differences in the decay rates (relaxations) of the NMR signals of the body's normal tissues (Figure 6). The discovered differences supply the pixel amplitude differences (contrast) that produce the detailed visualization of normal human anatomy MRI is noted for. Note the visualization of the vestibular and cochlear nerves WITHIN the internal auditory canal (Figure 8b) and the visualization of the hypothalamic tract (that transports hormones from the brain WITHIN the pituitary stalk. (Figure 8c)

Figure 9.

Illustration of the MR signal decay rate differences of cancer and normal.

Damadian discovered that the NMR signal amplitudes of cancer tissue differ markedly from the NMR signal amplitudes of the normal tissues because of the differences in their rate of decay.

Above is an example of the difference in the decay rate of an NMR signal from cancer tissue relative to the decay rate of a normal tissue (Tables 1 & 2). The longer the signal decay the higher the signal amplitude computed from the NMR signal. The amplitude of the tissue NMR signal sets the brightness of the pixel (picture element) in the image assigned to it as exemplified in the pixels displaying the cerebellar tumor of figure 10.

Figure 6.

The discovery of the abnormal relaxations rates of cancers as seen in the above malignant hepatoma (0.826)
and Walker sarcoma (0.736) T1 decay times (yellow)

Tables 1 & 2.

R. Damadian, Tumor Detection by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Science, 19 March 1971, Vol.171, Tables 1 & 2, pp. 1151-1153. Raymond V. Damadian is the medical doctor who first proposed scanning medical patients by NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance, the original name of the MRI) based on his discovery of the principle on which all modern MRI is based — the different NMR signals that tissues emit in a magnetic field. The amplitude of these signals determines the brightness of the picture elements (pixels) that the MRI image is composed of.

Figure 10.

A Step-wise enlargement of an image of a cerebellar tumor of the brain exhibiting the picture elements (pixels) that make up the image.

Figure 6. Original 1971 data in Science showing the lengthening of the decay time (relaxation time) of the NMR signal of cancer relative to normal (e.g. liver cancer 826 milliseconds (msecs) vs 293 msecs normal liver, 736 msecs Walker Sarcoma vs. 538 msecs normal muscle). The data additionally shows the pronounced differences in the NMR signal decay rates of the normal tissues (e.g. 257 msecs intestine vs. 595 msecs for brain).

Figure 9. He discovered that the NMR signal amplitudes of cancer tissue differ markedly from the NMR signal amplitudes of the normal tissues because of the differences in their rate of decay. The above is an example of the difference in the decay rate of an NMR signal from cancer tissue relative to the decay rate of a normal tissue. The longer the signal decay the higher the signal amplitude computed from the NMR signal. The amplitude of the tissue NMR signal sets the brightness of the pixel (picture element) in the image assigned to it as exemplified in the pixels displaying the cerebellar tumor of figure 10.

T1 Image	T2 Image Figure 11. Brain Tumor	T2 Image
T2 Image Figure 12. Tumor Metastasis to Bone	T2 Image T2 Image              Figure 13. Liver Tumor

These signal amplitude differences enabled cancer tissues (Figures 11-13) and other tissues to be visualized in MRI images because the signal differences generate the needed brightness differences (CONTRAST) in the picture elements (pixels) needed to visualize detail in the MRI image.

The CONTRAST in pixel brightness allows the cancer pixels in the image to be distinguished from the surrounding normal pixels. (Figs 11-13)

Figure 14.

The cerebellar tumor as it would appear (14-D) with no MR signal differences. Figure 14-D is the same image as Figure 14-B but where all MR signal differences were eliminated and all the MR pixels therefore had the same pixel brightness. The absence of the MR signal differences between cancer and normal tissue discovered by Damadian gives the MR image pixels equal brightness and

Figure 15.

Figure 16a.

Figure 16b.

(as of 2/21/13)

Fig. 17b.

The above is the listing of all of the titles of the 4552 patents (as of 2/21/13) issued for MRI by the United States Patent Office following Dr. Damadian's original '832 patent for MRI (filed March 17, 1972).

Fig. 17c.

The above is the first page of the title list of the 4552 patents issued for MRI by the United States Patent Office beginning with the most recently issued patent (as of 2/21/13).

Fig. 17d.

The conclusion of the title listing of the 4552 patents issued for MRI by the United States Patent Office (as of 2/21/13) following Dr. Damadian's original patent for MRI that inaugurated the MRI industry. [U.S. Patent "Apparatus and Method For Detecting Cancer in Tissue". #3,789,832. Filed March 17, 1972].

Figure 18.
The standard 23 year old 2 ¼" NMR Test-Tube Analyser used by chemists
for ascertaining the molecule composition of aqueous solutions.

The standard NMR(MR) test-tube analyzer, utilized by NMR spectroscopists at the time had a two and 1/4 inch gap between the magnet poles to accept test-tube samples. It was the only NMR apparatus in existence at the time Dr. Damadian did his original NMR (MR) test-tube analyses of normal and cancerous tissue samples to see if a disease (cancer) differentiating NMR signal could be experimentally demonstrated that would enable his concept of a cancer detecting NMR(MR) body scanner to proceed.

Telling someone looking at this apparatus that it should be used to scan the human body was regarded as absurd. The giant magnets to do it did not exist. The rf antennas needed to accomplish detecting a less than 1mm tumor inside the body also did not exist. They were a major concern.

The sample tube is non-invasively wrapped with an external transmitter-receiver coil to stimulate and receive nuclear resonance signals from the sample.

Figure 19a.

With the same tissue sample as in the above illustration but now 10" removed from the proposed MR antenna envisioned for a body MR scanner, and where the MR signal itself was not all that strong and readily lost by the slightest mispositioning of the sample within the magnet the prospect of successfully acquiring an MR signal with an external antenna from a 1mm tissue sample deep within the human body was a major uncertainty.

At the time the idea (1971) of taking a 2¼ inch test-tube analyzer and turning it into a scanner of the live human body was deemed absurd.

Figure 20a.

Michael Goldsmith and Michael Stanford winding one of the two Niobium Titanium (NbTi) superconducting magnet coils built for Indomitable.

Figure 20b.

Michael Goldsmith and Nean Hu with the liquid helium cryogen chamber that housed the NbTi superconductiong magnet coil.

Figure 20c.

Left to Right, Raymond Damadian, Larry Minkoff and Michael Goldsmith alongside "live magnet" Indomitable with the iced liquid helium port on the top of the magnet alongside of the two helium cooling liquid nitrogen ports.

Figure 20d.

Dr. Damadian in Indomitable for the first attempt at a human MR scan with his chest surrounded by the largest diameter antenna (14" diameter) that Dr. Goldsmith had been able to build at the time that could still successfully generate any MR signal from an interior sample. Also pictured is an adjacent cardiac defibrillator to counter any emergencies that might arise and a cardiologist to administer it if necessary. The scan attempt on Dr. Damadian failed. All that was obtained was a normal EKG. The Goldsmith hypothesis for the failed scan was Dr. Damadian was "too fat" for his coil.

Figure 20e.

Larry Minkoff finally gets into Indomitable (weeks later) to test the Goldsmith "too fat" hypothesis.

Figure 21.

Figure 22.

FIRST EVER MR IMAGE OF THE HUMAN BODY !! A cross-section of L. Minkoff's chest at the level of T-8 showing chest walls, lungs, heart, aorta and vertebra, and the suggestion of cardiac chambers within the heart that was initially put down as too good to be true.

Figure 23.

The exhilaration of team Indomitable at 4:45 AM July 3, 1977.

PROVIDING
(Fig.6, Tables 1 & 2)

Figure 11.
T2 MRI visualization of a tumor of the brain made possible by the discovery of Damadian of the abnormal T2 (and T1) MR (NMR) relaxations of cancerous tissue.

 

The Prostate without an Endorectal Probe	The Heart
Prostate: Delineation of Peripheral Zones (PZ), Cortical Zone (CZ) and Vescicles without an Endorectal Coil.

Cervical Spine
Upright Neutral	Upright Extension
Unsuspected Disc Herniation in Extension
The Liver, Kidney and Small Intestine
Bladder and Uterus in Pelvic Floor Dysfunction (PFD)
Lumbar Spine
Recumbent, Weightless	Upright, Weight-Bearing

Figure 8.

Figure 8a-8d. Further examples of the exceptional anatomic detail made visible by the discovery of Damadian of the pronounced differences in the decay rates (relaxations) of the NMR signals of the body's normal tissues (Figure 6). The discovered differences supply the pixel amplitude differences (contrast) that produce the detailed visualization of normal human anatomy MRI is noted for. Note the visualization of the vestibular and cochlear nerves WITHIN> the internal auditory canel (Figure 8b) and the visualization of the hypothalamic tract (that transports hormones from the brain WITHIN the pituitary stalk. (Figure 8c)

Lumbar Disc Herniation


Figure 24.

Merril Simon - Co-author
" The Pioneers of NMR and Magnetic Resonance in Medicine - The Story of MRI", James Mattson and Merrill Simon
Bar-Ilan University Press, 1969

 

On the Accomplishment of the World's First MRI Scan
of the Live Human Body 7/3/1977

Figure 25.

Figure 26.

Figure 27.

Figue 28.

Figures 30a-30c. First ever MRI images of patients with cancer (1978)
(obtained on Indomitable)

Figure 30a. FONAR scan at the level of 1-3/4 inches below the Angle of Lewis, by the method of Indomitable1, (Figs 20c and 20e) in a man 46 years old with pulmonary oat cell carcinoma. Tumour indicated by light blue infiltrate in left lung field, which should be black as it is in right lung cavity. Midline structure (red) separating the two lung cavities is the cross section through the arch of the aorta. ( Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society of London B, 1980, Vol. 289, pg 498, plate 2, figure 13.)

Figure 30b. FONAR cross-sectional scan through the thorax at the level of the 3rd intercostal space, by the method of Indomitable1, (Figs 20c and 20e) in a patient with an adenocarcinoma of the breast that metastasized to the right lung. The tumor is seen as a band of signal-producing tissue (light blue) bridging the right lung cavity. The tortuous structure separating the right and left lung cavities is the aortic arch. (1978) (Scanning time: 36 min.) ( Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society of London B, 1980, Vol. 289, pg 497, plate 3, figure 15. (color version))

Figure 30c. FONAR cross-sectional scan through the low chest (10th thoracic vertebra), by the method of Indomitable1, (Figs 20c and 20e) in a patient with advanced alveolar cell carcinoma. The tumor is seen as intense signal-producing tissue (red, and less signal-intense light blue) invading both lung cavities and obliterating the bulk of the air space. (1978) (Scanning time: 30 min.) ( Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society of London B, 1980, Vol. 289, pg 497, plate 3, figure 14. (color version))

Figure 31. First-ever commercial MRI the FONAR QED 80. The FONAR QED 80 was equipped with a computer driven patient transport system (Vertical white bed mount pictured at the front of the QED 80 scanner) to automate the manual three-dimensional step-wise scanning procedure utilized by Indomitable1. (Indomitable transport apparatus Figs. 20c & 20e)

Figure 32. "Carcinoma of the left upper lobe with peripheral consolidation". Images published by Drs. Ross, Lie, Thompson & Associates from their FONAR QED 80 MRI scanner installed in their radiology practice in Clevelend, Ohio. QED 80 images were acquired by the step-wise 3D patient translocation method of Indomitable1. (Radiology Nuclear Medicine Magazine, June 1981, cover)

1. The 3D step-wise translocation of the patient across the magnetically focused resonance aperture. The resonance aperture was achieved by focussing the "near field" magnetic component of the transmitted rf (U.S. Patent 3,789,832) in combination with the shaping of the static magnetic field of the region of interest to generate a spatially localized NMR signal.

Figure 33. "NMR image of the breast shows a large mass (dark area) in the central portion of the right breast. T1 data are consistent with the diagnosis of cyst. (mean: 151, width: 239)" Images published by Drs. Ross, Lie, Thompson & Associates from their FONAR QED 80 MRI scanner installed in their radiology practice in Clevelend, Ohio. QED 80 images were acquired by the step-wise 3D patient translocation method of Indomitable1. ( Radiology Vol.143, No.1, pg 202, April 1982.)

Figure 34. "NMR image shows a region of low density in the left breast with elevated T1 values. The small black area in the right breast is compatible with the diagnosis of cyst. (mean: 127, width: 128)" Images published by Drs. Ross, Lie, Thompson & Associates from their FONAR QED 80 MRI scanner installed in their radiology practice in Clevelend, Ohio. QED 80 images were acquired by the step-wise 3D patient translocation method of Indomitable1. ( Radiology Vol.143, No.1, pg 204, April 1982.)

Figure 35.

Figure 36.

Figure 37.

Figure 38.

The Mommy and Me MRI

The Mommy and Me MRI produced the above (just obtained) infant pictures of a 7 month old child WITHOUT ANESTHESIA with the infant lying in the scanner in a Fonar receiver coil with the mother kneeling and facing into the scanner (opposite to the position shown) holding the child's head. The upper left image of the infant's brain shows the mother's head positioning finger-tips. The brain images obtained exhibit hydrocephalus in the infant together with pronounced CSF pooling suggestive of significant obstruction to the flow of CSF (most likely cervical obstruction) in and out of the brain generating increases in intracranial pressure (ICP) and cerebral pooling of CSF as visualized in the above brain images of the infant.

Figure 39.

THE TRUTH OF HISTORY, THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS – 2 YEARS AFTER THE NOBEL PRIZE

“By the final few decades of the twentieth century, medical practitioners were exploiting developments in nuclear physics to provide a range of new ways of peering inside the human body …. Another technique developed during the 1970s was MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). The technique was initially developed by Raymond Damadian (1936 -), working at the Downstate Medical Center in New York, making use of the fact that different atomic nuclei emit radio waves of predictable frequencies when exposed to a magnetic field. Damadian noted that tumorous cells emitted signals different from those emitted by healthy tissue and used this as the basis for a new technique for identifying cancers. Damadian and his fellow workers produced the first MRI scan of the human body in 1977.”
(Making Modern Science, A Historical Review, The University of Chicago Press, 2005).

 

THE TRUTH OF HISTORY, SUNY HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER (DOWNSTATE MEDICAL CENTER), BROOKLYN – 5 YEARS AFTER THE NOBEL PRIZE

Figure 40.

(Richard Macchia, MD, and Paul Dreizen, MD, in the UUP Voice, the official publication of United University Professions (UUP), State University of New York.)

 

THE TRUTH OF HISTORY, THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING – 6 YEARS AFTER THE NOBEL PRIZE

American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE)
Washington, D.C.

Figure 41.

Figure 42.

 

View PDF of the Article: Nobel Prize for MRI Imaging Denied to Raymond V. Damadian a Decade Ago

 

IN SUMMATION,

ORIGINATION OF THE NMR BODY SCANNING IDEA 

Damadian both originated the idea to scan the human body by NMR (MR) and provided the means (the NMR signal differences) to achieve it. For any scientific advance to occur, someone must generate the idea to bring it about. Damadian provided the idea to give rise to the MRI.

Prior to Damadian's genesis of the NMR body scanning idea in 1969, (Figs. 1,2,3) NMR instruments for obtaining the NMR spectra of test tube samples had been in operation for 23 years. Thousands of research scientists and chemists the world over used NMR spectrometers to obtain spectra of chemical samples, but the idea to use NMR to scan the human body occurred to no one.

For example, without the idea to create an independent self-contained transportable combustion engine, there would be no automobile. Without the idea to transport vehicles by air flotation, there would be no airplanes.

Without the idea to generate light by electricity, there would be no light bulbs and without the idea to scan the human body by NMR there would be no MRI. The idea to scan the human body by NMR originated with Damadian.

Indeed, when Damadian first originated the idea it was ridiculed at a major scientific conference held at the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health in 1976. A distinguished member of the NMR profession and a professor at the Johns Hopkins University at the time presented his successful repeat of Dr. Damadian's NMR measurements of malignant tissue. He went on to report that other non-malignant diseased tissues also had elevated NMR relaxations. Overlooking that both malignant tissues and non-malignant diseased tissues had marked NMR relaxation elevations when compared to normal that would generate marked differences in pixel brightness (contrast) when displayed on an MRI image he announced.

"Therefore any further discussion of scanning
the human body
by NMR is visionary nonsense." (Fig. 19b)

 

At another NMR conference that Dr. Damadian was asked to present at, the Chairman of the NMR conference stood up after his presentation and asked

"Now Doctor, how fast do you propose to
spin the patient ?" (Fig. 19c)

The focused rf of U.S. Patent 3,789,832 (Fig. 20c, 20e) together with shaping of the static magnetic field provided the means for the spatial localization needed for the in vivo scanning of the 106 (Fig. 21 & Fig.22) anatomic loci (pixels – see Fig. 10) that provided the first MR image of the human body. It was demonstrated at trial that the magnetic component (the "near field" that generates the NMR signal) of the transmitted rf (radio frequency) could be shaped to any dimension desired ("focused") and moved to any location desired¹. The focusing of the transmitted rf would be used to systematically generate the NMR signals from spatially localized scanning loci within the body, in order to map the anatomy and detect diseased loci.

Except for Damadian's BOLD IDEA to take the NMR test-tube analyzer and its 2 1/4 inch sample space and totally remake the magnet and its millimeter diameter NMR rf receiver coils* that had been devoted unchanged for more than 23 years, since the inception of NMR, to the chemical analysis of test-tube samples, there would be no MRI today.

Notwithstanding grave doubts that there would be sufficient NMR signal/noise reception to detect a tiny NMR signal from a small voxel (volume element) deep within the interior of the human body, using a receiver coil 10 inches away from the signal generating volume, and still achieve an NMR signal large enough to scan the entire human body, the initiative for the NMR body scanner (MRI) proceeded under the Good Lord's protection and direction (Col. 2:3).

It took Damadian to envision the radically transforming step of taking the traditional 23 year old NMR test-tube analyzer and using it to invent a bold new revolutionary scanner for the entire human body.

*rf transmitter coils, rf receiver coils, pre-amplifiers, rf tuned resonance circuits, etc that had been devoted unchanged for more than 23 years since the inception of NMR to the NMR chemical analysis of test-tube samples.

1: see Fig.32 legend.

 

DISCOVERY OF THE NMR SIGNAL DIFFERENCES TO MAKE THE IMAGE 

Having originated the NMR body scanner idea, Damadian also provided the means to bring it about. He isolated the T1 and T2 tissue NMR relaxation differences (See "T1 and T2 Imaging" section above. Click here) that made it possible. He demonstrated for the first time that the NMR signal from cancer tissue was markedly different from the NMR signals obtained from normal tissues. He further demonstrated in the same 1971 publication in Science (Damadian, R. Tumor Detection by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Science, 171:1151-1153, 1971) that the NMR signals of the normal tissues also differed markedly.

Figure 14 is an axial (cross-sectional) image of the brain showing a tumor of the cerebellum (white areas) in the midline. Figure 14c is a magnified image showing the picture elements or "pixels" (small squares) that make up the image. The cerebellar tumor as it would appear (D) with no MR signal differences. Figure D is the same image as B but where all MR signal differences were eliminated and all the MR pixels therefore had the same pixel brightness. The absence of the MR signal differences between cancer and normal tissue discovered by Damadian gives the MR image pixels equal brightness and the tumor becomes Invisible.

Were the amplitudes of the NMR signals (fig.9) used to set the brightness of each MRI image pixel the same for all tissues (and prior to Dr. Damadian's discovery such NMR tissue signal differences were not known to exist) the brightness of each image pixel would be the same. The MR image would be a blank.

The NMR signal differences discovered by Damadian (Figs 6,9,tables 1 & 2) vary the brightness of the pixels that make up the image (Figs. 6,9). The signal differences of diseased and normal tissues generate the large differences in pixel brightness that enable all diseased tissues (cancerous as well as non-cancerous) to be exquisitely visualized (fig.3b,10,11-13) by the MRI image. Additionally the exceptional NMR signal differences among the normal tissues discovered by Damadian give rise to the extraordinary detail of normal anatomy visualized by MRI (figs. 7,8)

Except for the marked NMR signal differences between diseased tissues and normal tissues discovered by Damadian and the marked differences of the NMR signals within the normal tissues themselves discovered by Damadian there would be no MRI. It is the tissue NMR signal differences discovered by Damadian that make the MRI image.

 

 

 

The tissue MR (NMR) signal differences discovered by Damadian are the BUILDING BLOCKS from which the MRI IMAGE is CONSTRUCTED.

Without the BUILDING BLOCKS there is no BUILDING!

Without the tissue NMR signal differences needed to construct an image, that were discovered by Damadian (and EXCLUDED by the NP),

THERE IS NOTHING TO MAKE THE IMAGE WITH
and
THERE IS NO MRI!

Except for the NMR signal differences discovered by Damadian to
MAKE THE IMAGE

THERE IS NO IMAGE !

If the NMR signals used to set the brightness of the image pixels do not vary from diseased to normal tissues or within the normal tissues themselves, as discovered by Damadian*, then THERE IS NOTHING TO MAKE THE MRI IMAGE WITH! The image pixels that the MR scanner MAKES THE IMAGE WITH will all have the same brightness and THE MRI IMAGE WILL BE A BLANK !

Figure 14 is an axial (cross-sectional) image of the brain showing a tumor of the cerebellum (white areas) in the midline. Figure 14c is a magnified image showing the picture elements or "pixels" (small squares) that make up the image. The cerebellar tumor as it would appear (D) with no MR signal differences. Figure D is the same image as B but where all MR signal differences were eliminated and all the MR pixels therefore had the same pixel brightness. The absence of the MR signal differences between cancer and normal tissue discovered by Damadian gives the MR image pixels equal brightness and the tumor becomes Invisible.

 

 

 

 

EXCLUDED

 

INTENTIONALLY

 

Figure 19 Nobel Statutes

 

"If a work which is to be rewarded has been produced by two or three persons, the prize shall be awarded to them JOINTLY. In no case may the prize be divided between more than THREE PERSONS." (Nobel Statutes)

The 2003 Nobel Prize for MRI, however was awarded to two persons. P.C. Lauterbur and P. Mansfield, not to the three persons provided for by the Nobel Statutes. The Third Nobel award provided for, and used many times throughout the history of the Nobel Prize, was intentionally VOIDED.

Dr. Damadian was thereby EXCLUDED by the NOBEL (and therefore from history) from any recognition for his critical role in the genesis of the MRI without which MRI WOULD NOT EXIST !

 

 

The Nobel Statutes

 

Thus Dr. Damadian's absence from the Nobel Prize for MRI was not an oversight. He was

EXCLUDED   INTENTIONALLY

Remarkably, EXCLUDING Dr. Damadian constitutes EXCLUDING THE ONE ORIGINATOR WITHOUT WHOM THERE IS NO MRI AT ALL !! It constitutes EXCLUDING the person who for the first time ever in history conceived of the IDEA to use a 23 year old test-tube analyzer (Fig. 18, the NMR test-tube analyzer) to scan the live human body, an idea branded as "visionary nonsense" at the time it was originated (Fig. 19b). It also constitutes EXCLUDING the person who further, for the first time ever, PROVIDED the MEANS to ACHIEVE AN MRI IMAGE.

HE PROVIDED THE SIGNAL TO MAKE THE IMAGE WITH (Figs. 4a, Tables I & II, Fig. 4b, Fig. 6) and WITHOUT WHICH THERE IS NO MRI IMAGE AT ALL !!

It is indisputable that Dr. Damadian is the vital contributor by whom (in accordance with the Nobel Statutes) "the work which is to be awarded has been produced."

Indeed as Professor Henry Wallman, Professor of Mathematics, Massachusetts Institiute of Technology (MIT) stated, "I am of the definite opinion that Dr. Damadian's contribution was both prior to and more fundamental than Dr. Lauterbur's" (underlining included in original [ J. Mattson and M. Simon "The Pioneers of NMR and Magnetic Resonance in Medicine: The Story of MRI" Bar-Ilan University Press (1996), 676 ].

Notwithstanding, Dr. Damadian's vital role in the genesis of MRI and the specific provision of the Nobel Statues to provide the award to up to "THREE PERSONS" "JOINTLY", the Nobel Committee intentionally subverted this option (of the Nobel Statutes) and EXCLUDED Dr. Damadian. Remarkably in VOIDING the third award provided by the Nobel Statutes the Nobel Committee intentionally and untruthfully EXCLUDED the only MRI innovator without whom THERE IS NO MRI AT ALL! They EXCLUDED the innovator who originated the IDEA (Fig. 17d) of the MR body scanner for medical disease and who proposed for the first time ever that the 23 year old non-invasive NMR analyzer of test-tube samples could be used to scan the live human body to detect disease and without which idea no such scanner could ever come into existence. They also EXCLUDED the only one who DISCOVERED the NMR SIGNAL that could achieve it, the NMR SIGNAL that makes the image and without which THERE IS NO IMAGE!

 

VIOLATION OF THE WILL OF
ALFRED NOBEL

 

For his prize in physics, Nobel specifies it is to be given for the "most important "discovery  OR  invention". For his prize in chemistry, Nobel specifies it is to be given for the "most important chemical discovery  OR  improvement".

In so doing, Nobel defines what a discovery is according to HIS WILL.

 

It is NOT a method !

 

 

 

It is NOT a method !

For the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine Nobel RESTRICTS his award to DISCOVERY ONLY! ( no OR ) "one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery ( no OR ) within the domain of physiology or medicine".

HIS WILL does not authorize a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for a METHOD or TECHNIQUE.

The only DISCOVERY regarding the genesis of MRI was the DISCOVERY by Damadian—for the first time ever—of the existence of the abnormal SIGNAL (NMR signal) of diseased tissues that MAKE THE IMAGE ! (Figs. 3, 6, Tables 1 & 2)

The subsequent developments by Lauterbur and Mansfield were exclusively METHODS that were generated to implement the Damadian SIGNAL DISCOVERY.

Indeed, in their October 6, 2003 Press Release (see following document) description of the contributions of Mansfield and Lauterbur, the Nobel Assembly of the Karolinska Institute reports Mansfield's contribution as an analysis which "made it possible to develop a useful imaging TECHNIQUE" and that his contribution was "an essential step in order to obtain a practical METHOD". Thus the Nobel Assembly in their award announcement specifies Manfield's contribution solely as a METHOD or a TECHNIQUE for obtaining an MR image from tissue NMR SIGNAL differences DISCOVERED by Damadian, where a METHOD or a TECHNIQUE does not qualify for a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine under Alfred Nobel's WILL. Likewise, the Nobel Assembly in describing Lauterbur's contribution cited it as the introduction of magnetic field gradients that "made it possible to create two-dimensional images of structures that could not be visualized by other TECHNIQUES" and that "made it possible to build up two-dimensional pictures of structures that could not be visualized with other METHODS."

In fact the Nobel Assembly, apparently aware that their 2003 award did not comply with the requirement of Alfred Nobel's WILL to award the Prize for

DISCOVERY ONLY

in the case of Physiology or Medicine, deliberately contorted the award citation to say their "discoveries" concerning "magnetic resonance imaging" knowing full well that their cited "discoveries" were not "discoveries" at all in accordance with Alfred Nobel's WILL but were instead entirely

METHODS

that did not qualify for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine under Alfred Nobel's WILL.

At the same time, remarkably, they EXCLUDED the one innovation that WAS THE GENUINE DISCOVERY required by Alfred Nobel's WILL that ORIGINATED the MRI and did comply with Alfred Nobel's WILL.

Accordingly, the contributions of Lauterbur and Mansfield are EXCLUSIVELY METHODS and TECHNIQUES for implementing DAMADIAN'S genuine DISCOVERY of the abnormal SIGNAL that DETECTS DISEASED TISSUE and MAKES THE IMAGE (Figs. 14, 5). At the same time the real DISCOVERY (and the only DISCOVERY, The discovery of the abnormal NMR signal of diseased tissue that makes DISEASED TISSUE VISIBLE ON AN MRI IMAGE and the DISCOVERY of the different NMR signals generated by the body's normal tissues themselves that makes the explicit ANATOMIC DETAIL of the body's VITAL ORGANS VISIBLE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER IN MEDICAL HISTORY) that generated the MRI was EXCLUDED from the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

IN EXPLICIT VIOLATION OF ALFRED NOBEL'S WILL !!

 

 

 

Apart from Dr. Damadian's

ORIGINATION

of the

IDEA*

to take a 23 year old 2¼ inch test-tube analyzer (Fig 18) and REDESIGN AND TRANSFORM IT into a non-invasive scanner for detecting disease in the live human body (Figs 1,2,3,20e)
and
Apart from Dr. Damadian's
DISCOVERY**
 of the
disease detecting signal
to do it with
(Figs 3,4a,4b,9,11: tables 1 & 2)

THERE WOULD BE NO MRI TODAY !!
(Fig 22, Fig 11)

 

 "About 22,000 MRI machines around the world were used in 60 million examinations   last year" 
 (The Economist, Dec. 4, 2003 (Q4 2003)) 

* An idea publically branded  "NONSENSE"  at the time (Cursor click on the black rectangle of interest to visit the cited reference)

** ... the discovery that tissue disease altered the NMR radio signal produced by the bodies tissues (Figure 9). The diseased tissue NMR radio signals obtained in an NMR scan of the live human body were thereby made distinct (Figure 9)  from the tissue NMR radio signals obtained from the bodies surrounding normal tissues  (Figure 11) . The discovery enabled detailed visualization of the bodies' diseased tissues  (Figure 11)   for the first time ever thereby making possible NMR (MRI) scans of the live human body (enabling early treatment).

In so far as
Without Edison there is no Light Bulb
Without Alexander Bell there is no Telephone
Without the Wright Brothers there is no Airplane
Without Damadian there is no MRI*

*as affirmed by
TWO PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES,
THE NATIONAL INVENTORS HALL OF FAME,
THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT.

 

"but in the end
THE TRUTH WILL OUT"
William Shakespeare (1598 AD)
"The Merchant of Venice"
Launcelot Gobbo to Old Gobbo (Launcelot's father)

• In 1988 he received the National Medal of Technology from President Reagan for the MRI.
• In 1989 he was inducted in the National Inventor's Hall of Fame as the Inventor of the MRI.
• In 1997 the patent based on his discovery of the MRI was affirmed and enforced by the United States Supreme Court.
• In 2004 he received the Benjamin Franklin Medal and Bower Award.

TIMELINE of MRI

Damadian's Discovery

FONAR Position Regarding Nobel Prize

Dr. Damadian Interview - online
(requires a computer with a sound card)

Alfred Nobel's Will

The Economist celebrates innovation at the 2nd Annual Innovation Awards and Summit in San Francisco

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