The first full-body prototype of a magnetic resonance imaging scanner was tested in 1978 by its own inventor, Peter Mansfield, who volunteered to undergo the initial scan. His work transformed medical diagnostics by enabling the mathematical analysis of radio signals, turning them into detailed internal images without the need for invasive procedures or ionizing radiation.
Early academic path
Born in Lambeth in 1933, Mansfield left school at 15 to work as a printer's assistant after a careers teacher discouraged him from pursuing science. Following National Service, he returned to education via night school and later earned a degree from Queen Mary University of London in 1959. His early research focused on pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers for studying solid polymer systems, earning his PhD in 1962.
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After a postdoctoral stint at the University of Illinois, Mansfield joined the University of Nottingham in 1964. He progressed through roles as a lecturer and reader, eventually becoming a professor in 1979. During this tenure, his team secured Medical Research Council funding to advance nuclear magnetic resonance from a tool for studying liquids into a system capable of imaging the human body.
Advancements in medical imaging
Mansfield developed the technique of slice selection, which allowed practitioners to image a specific axial section of the body rather than the whole subject. Furthermore, he discovered echo-planar imaging, a protocol that significantly increased the speed of image collection and paved the way for functional magnetic resonance imaging. His original prototype is now held in the Science Museum.
Recognition and legacy
His contributions to medical science were recognized globally, culminating in the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, which he shared with Paul Lauterbur. Mansfield was knighted as a Knight Bachelor and held memberships in the Royal Society and the National Academy of Sciences. He remained at the University of Nottingham until his retirement in 1994, passing away in 2017 in Beeston.
Fast facts
- Born: 1933, Lambeth
- Died: 2017, Nottingham
- Education: Queen Mary University of London
- Key Award: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2003)
- Notable Development: Echo-planar imaging
- Affiliation: University of Nottingham
- Honours: Knight Bachelor
- Burial: Beeston
Questions readers ask
What specific contribution did Peter Mansfield make to MRI?
He developed slice selection to focus imaging on specific body areas and created echo-planar imaging to speed up the process.
Did Mansfield ever test his own invention?
Yes, he volunteered to be the subject for the first scan on a full-body prototype in 1978.
Achievements
- Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine — 2003
- National Inventors Hall of Fame — 2007
- Knight Bachelor
- Notable work: NMR 'diffraction' in solids?
- Notable work: Multi-planar image formation using NMR spin echoes
- Affiliated with University of Nottingham
- Educated at Queen Mary University of London
- Worked as physicist, inventor and university teacher
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