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Nobel Prize for MRI Discovery

Medical Author: Frederick Hecht, M.D.
Medical Editor: Barbara K. Hecht, Ph.D.

Oct 6, 2003 - Today two scientists who developed magnetic resonance imaging, better known as MRI, were awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. The official announcement stated that: "The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has today decided to award The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2003 jointly to Paul C Lauterbur and Peter Mansfield for their discoveries concerning "magnetic resonance imaging." Dr.Paul Lauterbur is American. Sir Peter Mansfield is British. The following summary and thumbnail sketches of the new Nobel laureates are based on information provided by the Nobel Assembly.


Imaging of human internal organs with exact and non-invasive methods is very important for medical diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. This year's Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine have made seminal discoveries concerning the use of magnetic resonance to visualize different structures. These discoveries have led to the development of modern magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, which represents a breakthrough in medical diagnostics and research.

Atomic nuclei in a strong magnetic field rotate with a frequency that is dependent on the strength of the magnetic field. Their energy can be increased if they absorb radio waves with the same frequency (resonance). When the atomic nuclei return to their previous energy level, radio waves are emitted. These discoveries were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1952. During the following decades, magnetic resonance was used mainly for studies of the chemical structure of substances. In the beginning of the 1970s, this year's Nobel Laureates made pioneering contributions, which later led to the applications of magnetic resonance in medical imaging.

Paul C. Lauterbur

Paul Lauterbur (born 1929), at the University of Illinois in Urbana discovered the possibility to create a two-dimensional picture by introducing gradients in the magnetic field. By analysis of the characteristics of the emitted radio waves, he could determine their origin. This made it possible to build up two-dimensional pictures of structures that could not be visualized with other methods.

Lauterbur discovered that introduction of gradients in the magnetic field made it possible to create two-dimensional images of structures that could not be visualized by other techniques. In 1973, he described how addition of gradient magnets to the main magnet made it possible to visualize a cross section of tubes with ordinary water surrounded by heavy water. No other imaging method can differentiate between ordinary and heavy water.

Sir Peter Mansfield

Peter Mansfield (born 1933) at the University of Nottingham further developed the utilization of gradients in the magnetic field. He showed how the signals could be mathematically analyzed, which made it possible to develop a useful imaging technique. Mansfield also showed how extremely fast imaging could be achievable. This became technically possible within medicine a decade later.

Mansfield utilized gradients in the magnetic field in order to more precisely show differences in the resonance. He showed how the detected signals rapidly and effectively could be analyzed and transformed to an image. This was an essential step in order to obtain a practical method. Mansfield also showed how extremely rapid imaging could be achieved by very fast gradient variations (so called echo-planar scanning). This technique became useful in clinical practice a decade later.

The Resonance Phenomenon

The resonance phenomenon is governed by a simple relation between the strength of the magnetic field and the frequency of the radio waves. For every type of atomic nucleus with unpaired protons and/or neutrons, there is a mathematical constant by which it is possible to determine the wavelength as a function of the strength of the magnetic field. This phenomenon was demonstrated in 1946 for protons (the smallest of all atomic nuclei) by Felix Bloch and Edward Mills Purcell, USA. They were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1952.

Other fundamental discoveries concerning magnetic resonance have in recent years resulted in two Nobel Prizes in Chemistry. In 1991, Richard Ernst, Switzerland, was awarded for his contributions to the development of the methodology of high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. In 2002, Kurt Wuthrich, also Switzerland, was awarded for his development of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for determination of the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules in solution.

