Raymond V Damadian

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Raymond Vahan Damadian was born in Forest Hills, New York in 1936, to an Armenian family. He is the inventor of the first MR (Magnetic Resonance) Scanning Machine. At Juilliard School, he played the violin then received a scholarship to the University of Wisconsin. There he received his bachelors degree in Mathematics, in 1956. At the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, he received his MD degree in 1960. While working at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, he researched potassium and sodium in living cells. This guided him to the first experiments with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). By using nuclear magnetic resonance, the differences between normal tissue and tumors can be found to diagnose cancer. His first experiments were on rats where he found large differences in the strength and length of the NMR signals given off by the cancerous and healthy tissues. This work solidified his ideas of the MR Body Scanner. With much criticism from other scientists, in 1971 Damadian filed for a patent for his idea of NMR for detecting cancer. Herman Carr created one dimensional MR images. Then scientist Paul Lauterbur developed a way to make MR images in two dimensional and three dimensional using gradients. Scientist Peter Mansfield researched a way so that the scans would take seconds rather than hours. This produced clearer images. Lauterbur and Mansfield used animals and human limbs, whereas Damadian built the first full body MRI machine in 1977, this prototype was called “Indomitable.” This name was symbolic to Damadian’s struggle to do what many said could not be done. “Indomitable” is now displayed in the Smithsonian Institution. Damadian formed his own company called FONAR (Field fOcused Nuclear mAgnetic Resonance). In 1980, this company made the first commercial scanner. The Food and Drug Administration approved this in 1984. Damadian has

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