Project Proposal
The MRI has changed the world of medicine today. It has provided life-changing and life-altering diagnosis to ensure the best medical care and attention possible. It has been a major contributor to modern medicine.
Before we had Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Professor Wilhelm Rontgen discovered the infamous x-ray machine. Rontgen, a professor in Germany, observed a fluorescent glow of crystals on a table near his cathode-ray tube. This caught the attention of scientists all over the world and eventually was used on battlefields with physicians to locate the bullets in wounded soldiers. Less than one hundred years later, ultrasounds were discovered to assist in the field of medicine to witness the imaging of blood flow in the heart[1]. Though these machines were a major piece in their respective field, none were able to look inside the body without a single scratch.
In 1974, Dr. Raymond Damadian received a patent for his Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technique. Three years later, he successfully created the world’s first whole-body MRI scanner which he called the Indomitable. With this innovation, the MRI became one of the biggest breakthroughs in medicine by allowing a non-invasive imaging technology to produce a three-dimensional anatomical image. Its main uses are for disease detection, diagnosis, and treatment monitoring. As this requires the ability to be still in a closed space, it may be difficult for those who suffer from claustrophobia[2]. It also is a major expense. Alternatives to this machine would be x-rays (though they cannot see as deep into the body), ultrasounds, or an MP-RAGE. The Magnetization-prepared rapid acquisition gradient echo, MP-RAGE, is a fast three-dimensional echo pulse sequence that uses a magnetization preparation pulse. None of these, however, are as efficient as the original MRI scanner[3].
There have been many interactions with American society and culture with this invention. One of which the MRI journal, State of the Art Part 1, states “the Magnetic resonance imaging industry is producing over 2000 units per year, with the United States alone having 40% of the world’s marketing and production of MRI”[4]. It clearly has been a major innovation in the United States.
Our blog will be an interactive website that will allow viewers to learn in detail about the MRI. It will include separate pages for each category including about us, the antecedents, inventor, impact, bibliography, alternatives, and the actual documentary. We also want to include an interactive game that allows the viewer to fully participate in a visual environment to fully see how this machine works. For the structure of the documentary, we would like to open with a brief introduction of our invention leading to the preexisting technologies that came before it. It then will transition into the inventor, Raymond Damadian, and his life pre and post invention. We then will go into detail incorporating the invention process, patenting, and the continuous developments and changes in society and culture today. We will be using the recording studio and the sound booth for voice-overs, both located in the HCC to assist in this process. For the editing portion, we will begin with Davinci Resolve but have IMOVIE as back up.
We chose this invention because it is truly one of the greatest inventions created in America. It has changed the lives of so many people and will only continue to improve the lives of citizens. It truly has been one of the greatest medical innovations of this century. We all are excited to learn more about this in a fun and interactive blog and documentary.
[1] Fanello, Wendy. “History of Ultrasound – Overview of Sonography History and Discovery.” Diagnostic Medical Sonography Ultrasound Schools Info Career & Education, 2019. https://www.ultrasoundschoolsinfo.com/history/.
[2] PBS. “Who Made America? | Innovators | Raymond Damadian.” Who Made America? Accessed September 24, 2019. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/damadian_hi.html.
[3] National Institute of Health. “Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) | National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.” NIH, 2017. https://www.nibib.nih.gov/science-education/science-topics/magnetic-resonance-imaging-mri.
[4] Collins, Jannette. “Letter from the Editor: The History of MRI.” Seminars in Roentgenology, MRI: State of the Art, Part I, 43, no. 4 (October 1, 2008): 259–60. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.ro.2008.06.001.
Annotated Bibliography
APS. “July 1977: MRI Uses Fundamental Physics for Clinical Diagnosis.” APS Physics, July 2006. https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200607/history.cfm.
This article is on one of the physicists, I.I. Rabi who worked on developing the MRI alongside the more famous Dr. Damadian.
BBC. “Study into Health Impact of MRI,” May 21, 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7412563.stm.
“Study into Heath Impact of MRI” is an article about the concerns of potential health risks when using MRI as compared to Xray and Ultrasound technologies weighing both the pros and cons of the artifact.
Brown, Mark A. MRI: Basic Principles and Applications. 3rd ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2003. https://doi.org/10.1002/0471467936.
This book is a comprehensive deep dive into radiology and magnetic resonance imaging, it analyzes the techniques involved in imaging as well as their various applications and uses. The book also tracks the progression of technological advancements in the field.
Collins, Jannette. “Letter from the Editor: The History of MRI.” Seminars in Roentgenology, MRI: State of the Art, Part I, 43, no. 4 (October 1, 2008): 259–60. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.ro.2008.06.001.
The journal article offers related statistics and an overview of the topic as well as links to other potential sources.
Damadian, Raymond V. “The Story of the MRI” – Raymond V. Damadian, MD. MP4. Bobby Jones Chiari & Syringomyelia Foundation, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVOyerAgNUY.
This is a video of Dr. Raymond Damadian speaking on developments in MRI and on how he created it. It is important as a primary source and as insight into the mind of the MRI’s creator.
Damadian, Raymond V. United States Patent: 3789832 – APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DETECTING CANCER IN TISSUE. 3789832, filed March 17, 1972, and issued February 5, 1974. http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=3789832.PN.&OS=PN/3789832&RS=PN/3789832.
This is the original patent of the first iteration of the machine filed in 1972 and it is useful as a primary source of mechanical analysis.
Drug Target Review. “High-Resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging Using Less Contrast Medium.” Drug Target Review, December 3, 2018. https://www.drugtargetreview.com/news/37451/mri-contrast-medium/.
The article features one of the newest developments in Magnetic Resonance Imaging involving contrast medium ratios and image clarity. It represents the forefront of the artifact’s progress into the modern era.
National Institute of Health. “Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) | National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.” NIH, 2017. https://www.nibib.nih.gov/science-education/science-topics/magnetic-resonance-imaging-mri.
The website explains how MRIs work and why they are used in place of other procedures.
Nature. “MRI Lights up the Whole Brain.” Nature 484, no. 7392 (April 4, 2012): 8–8. https://doi.org/10.1038/484008c.
This article demonstrates the second aspect of MRI functionality using fMRI to track active brain localizations while patients perform particular tasks.
Nelson, Charles A. “Incidental Findings in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Brain Research.” The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics : A Journal of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics 36, no. 2 (2008): 315–213. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-720X.2008.00275.x.
This article discusses the findings that have been discovered as a result of MRIs such as tracking and mapping brain damage.
Norris, David G., and Jonathan R. Polimeni. “Laminar (f)MRI: A Short History and Future Prospects.” NeuroImage 197 (August 15, 2019): 643–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.04.082.
The Journal article brings more insight into the process of fMRI and its application in modern medicine. It also goes into case examples and discusses certain fundamentals in neuroscience.
PBS. “Who Made America? | Innovators | Raymond Damadian.” Who Made America? Accessed September 24, 2019. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/damadian_hi.html.
This piece by PBS is on the life of Dr. Raymond Damadian and on how he came about the invention of the MRI machine as well as the machine’s commercialization.
Prasad, Amit, Wiebe E. Bijker, W. Bernard Carlson, and Trevor Pinch. Imperial Technoscience: Transnational Histories of MRI in the United States, Britain, and India. Cambridge, UNITED STATES: MIT Press, 2014. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/umw/detail.action?docID=3339766.
The book is a survey of multiple different systems of modern medicine in the developed world including modern surgery and imaging techniques.
Trafton, Anne. “Illuminating the Brain.” MIT News, January 28, 2011. http://news.mit.edu/2011/illuminating-brain-0128.
This article continues the discussion of fMRI usage and its proposed integration with optogenetics.