First recorded on a napkin, this notebook contains Lauterbur's ideas for what later became known as MRI.

Collection Highlights

Ordinary notebook, extraordinary idea: Paul Lauterbur's 1971 research notebook details ideas for MRI

In what appears to be an unremarkable notebook, which was recently donated to the CHF archives, Paul Lauterbur plotted his ideas for what later became known as Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI. Undoubtedly a defining piece of our chemical heritage, this notebook details a significant breakthrough in medical science with significant applications for both medical diagnosis and treatments.

During a time when invasive medical examinations and procedures were commonplace, the development of Magnetic Resonance Imaging freed countless patients from unnecessary suffering.

Paul Christian Lauterbur (1929–2007), chemist, inventor, and winner of the Nobel Prize, revolutionized the field of medical diagnosis when he transformed existing Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) technologies into a noninvasive diagnostic instrument capable of producing multidimensional images of the body. Originally called zeugmatography, the instrument and technique is now universally known as MRI.

Paul Lauterbur Photo courtesy of Joan Dawson

Sympathy for suffering leads to merciful discovery
Lauterbur was raised in Sydney, Ohio, where he was encouraged from an early age by family, friends, and teachers alike to pursue his scientific interests. He enrolled in the Case Institute of Technology where he earned a B.S. in chemistry in 1951. After spending several years working in industry, Lauterbur developed a keen interest in NMR techniques, which, at that early date, were primarily used for investigating the structures and electron distributions in molecules. Over the next several years Lauterbur pursued his research interests at NMR labs across the country and eventually earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh in 1962.

As a consultant and board member for an upstart NMR company, Lauterbur witnessed an experiment on tumor-bearing rats which highlighted the need for a noninvasive method of studying tissue samples by NMR. He stated, “The invasive nature of the animal procedure was distasteful to me, the data too complex, and the sources of differences too obscure to be relied upon for medical decisions.” He developed a theory on how these difficulties could be overcome and jotted down his ideas on a napkin at a nearby hamburger restaurant, before later formally recording them in the notebook featured here.

Over the next several months Lauterbur successfully tested his ideas about a mathematical approach to medical imaging and gradually reoriented most of his research to develop techniques and applications for MRI. Today, his legacy is apparent in the estimated 22,000 MRI cameras used around the world.

Groundbreaking work earns Nobel Prize and benefits millions
Along with Peter Mansfield, who developed the process for creating high speed images from MRI, Lauterbur was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He also received the National Medal of Science in 1987, the National Medal of Technology in 1988 and was inducted into the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame in 2007.

Everyone who has benefited from getting an MRI owes a debt of gratitude to Paul Lauterbur, who eschewed traditional scientific disciplines and instead pursued a career with varied research interests ranging from bioengineering to biophysics and computational biology. His contributions to the medical profession, indeed, society as a whole, cannot be understated.