Lauterbur, Paul Christian (1929-2007), an American physical chemist, won a share of the 2003 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for his discoveries that contributed to the development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI is a technique used in medicine for producing images of the brain, heart, and other internal organs. Physicians use these images to diagnose certain diseases, disorders, and injuries. Lauterbur shared the prize with the British physicist Sir Peter Mansfield.
Lauterbur made his discoveries in the 1970’s while using a technique called nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to study chemical compounds. The technique was developed in the 1940’s. Scientists use NMR spectroscopy to obtain detailed information about molecular structure. In this technique, researchers expose a substance to a strong, uniform magnetic field while they beam radio waves at it. The magnetic field causes the nuclei in atoms of the substance to line up. At just the right combination of magnetic field strength and radio frequency, the nuclei absorb energy from the radio waves and re-emit it as detectable radio signals. Scientists can analyze the strength and length of these signals to determine details of the molecular structure of a substance.
While using NMR, scientists try to expose the substance they are studying to a constant, uniform magnetic field to provide a clear image of the molecular structure. However, Lauterbur discovered that, by using a varying magnetic field, researchers could identify different molecules in a substance from slight differences in the radio signals produced. From this information, scientists could determine how the molecules are arranged and produce an image of the arrangement. Lauterbur quickly realized that this technique could be applied to medical imaging to create detailed pictures of internal structures of the body. Further refinements in these techniques led to the development of MRI technology.
Lauterbur was born in Sidney, Ohio, on May 6, 1929. He studied chemistry at Case Institute of Technology (now part of Case Western Reserve University) in Cleveland, graduating in 1951. He received a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh in 1962. He taught and conducted research in the departments of chemistry and radiology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, becoming a professor in 1969. In 1985, he assumed the position of professor and director of the Biomedical Resonance Laboratory at the University of Illinois in Urbana. Lauterbur died on March 27, 2007.
See also Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) .
