Inductee Profile
Raymond V. Damadian
Raymond V. Damadian, M.D. discovered the nuclear magnetic resonance tissue relaxation differences between cancerous tissue and normal tissue, which led him to originate the concept of wholebody scanning. This breakthrough has been the basis of every MRI tissue ever made. Tissue relaxation differences when converted by the MRI, provided a 25-fold increase in the pixel (picture element) contrast of medical images, overcoming the century old inability of the x-ray to generate the much needed contrast in the vital tissues, the body's soft tissues. Through Dr. Damadian's efforts, cancers became visible throughout the body where they had often been undetectable. He invented magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner in 1970 using radio signals and magnets to offer a non-invasive scan of the entire human body and its integral organs. This revolutionized the field of diagnostic medicine and provided medicine the ability to see the entire interior of teh human body from the outside for the first time.
Dr. Damadian received the world's first patent for MRI scanning (#3,789,832) and currently holds more than 50 patents related to NMR and MRI scanning. In 1977, he acquired the first NMR image of a live human using a whole-body MRI scanner and founded FONAR Corporation in 1978, to manufacture MRI scanners. He received Food and Drug Administration approval for the device in 1984. To date thousands of MRI scanners are in use in medical institutions and research facilities around the world. Dr. Damadian's first MR scanner, named "indomitable," was placed on permanent display in the Hall of Medical Sciences at the Smithsonian institution in Washington, D.C. in 1986.
On July 15, 1988, Dr. Damadian received the National Medal of Technology, the nation's highest honor in technology, presented by President Ronald Reagan, and was inducted into the National inventors Hall of Fame of the U.S. Patent Office in 1989., He is also a member of the National Medal of Technology Foundation, Biophysical Society, and International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. His other honors include a National Engineer's Special Recognition Award for the Father of MRI Scanning, the Lawrence Sperry Award, Sweden's Olle Olson Award for Radiology, a Montpelier Medal, and teh ellis island Medal of Honor.