A Quick History of the MRI.

Nikola Tesla discovered the Rotating Magnetic Field in Budapest, Hungary. This was a fundamental discovery in physics.

Columbia University Professor Isidor I. Rabi working in the Pupin Physic Laboratory in New York City, observed the quantum phenomenon dubbed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR).  He recognized that the atomic nuclei show their presence by absorbing or emitting radio waves when exposed to a sufficiently strong magnetic field.

Felix Bloch and Edward Purcell discover magnetic resonance phenomenon.

Herman Carr creates a one-dimensional MR image.

The "Tesla Unit" was proclaimed in the Rathaus of Munich, Germany by the International Electro-technical Commission-Committee of Action. All MRI machines are calibrated in "Tesla Units". The strength of a magnetic field is measured in Tesla or Gauss Units. The stronger the magnetic field, the stronger the amount of radio signals which can be elicited from the body's atoms and therefore the higher the quality of MRI images.

Raymond Damadian, a physician and experimenter working at Brooklyn's Downstate Medical Center discovered that hydrogen signal in cancerous tissue is different from that of healthy tissue because tumors contain more water. More water means more hydrogen atoms. When the NMR machine was switched off, the bath of radio waves from cancerous tissue will linger longer then those from the healthy tissue.

Raymond Damadian applies for a patent, which describes the concept of NMR being used for above purpose. He illustrates major parts of MRI machine in his patent application.

Paul Lauterbur, a chemist and an NMR pioneer at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, produced the first NMR image. It was of a test tube.

Raymond Damadian receives his patent.

Richard Ernst proposes using phase and frequency encoding and Fourier transform for acquisition of MR images.

Raymond Damadian produces MR image of the whole body. Peter Mansfield improves mathematics behind MRI and develops echo-planar technique, which allows images to be produces in seconds and later becomes the basis for fast MR imaging.



On July 3, 1977, nearly five hours after the start of the first MRI test, the first human scan was made as the first MRI prototype. The image above is of Dr. Damadian with the history-making prototype of his MRI scanner. This prototype is now on permanent display at the Smithsonian Institution‘s Hall of Medical Sciences.

Ljunggren and Tweig introduce k-space.

Le Bihan publishes an article in Radiology, which describes diffusion weighted imaging (DWI).

Real time MR imaging of the heart is developed.

Filler and colleagues describe imaging of axonal transport of supermagnetic metal oxide particles, a technique, which later becomes important in imaging of neural tracts.

Functional MR imaging of the brain is introduced.

The first intraoperative MR unit developed by GE and Harvard is installed in the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

In addition to research centers and large hospitals, small remote hospitals and imaging centers begin to utilize MRI predominantly for neuroimaging and musculoskeletal imaging.

Cardiac MRI, Body MRI, fetal imaging, functional MR imaging are further developed and become routine in many imaging centers. Research centers make significant strides forward in imaging cartilage on high field scanners. The number of free standing MRI centers, most of which utilize low or moderate field MR scanners significantly increases.