Former student wins a Nobel Prize for MRI

Seong-Gi Kim uses it to study brain functions. Kenneth Jordan had it done when he lost the… Seong-Gi Kim uses it to study brain functions. Kenneth Jordan had it done when he lost the use of his arm because of a pinched nerve. Between 60 and 70 million people, every year, go through the process to get a detailed image of their brains, spinal cords or organs.

Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, is an important, noninvasive tool for modern medical diagnosis – important enough to get the attention of the Nobel Assembly, a group of 50 professors in Sweden who award the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine every year.

The Nobel Assembly announced Monday that Pitt alumnus Paul Lauterbur was selected to receive the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He shared the prize, which he received for his work in developing MRI, with Sir Peter Mansfield of the University of Nottingham.

Leland Patouillet, associate vice chancellor for alumni relations, said any achievement by a Pitt alumnus has far-reaching benefits to the University.

“As the prestige and stature of the University continue to grow, so does the value of a degree,” he said.

Recalling what he described as a favorite saying of Chancellor Mark Nordenberg, he added, “Many of the University’s greatest accomplishments come through the life work of our alumni.”

But while Lauterbur’s award has had a positive effect on Pitt, the discovery that won him the prize has changed the way many doctors perform certain examinations.

“It’s had a huge impact on medicine,” said Jordan, the chair of Pitt’s chemistry department.

Jordan described his experience with MRI when he lost the use of his arm from a pinched nerve. Doctors used MRI on the back of his neck to find the nerve, and he has since regained the use of his arm.

Without MRI, Jordan added, doctors would have needed to cut open a patient to find the pinched nerves, which can cause loss of mobility or back pain.

Lauterbur, who is a professor of chemistry, biophysics and computational biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, received his doctorate from Pitt in 1962. He began his work toward MRI about the same time.

According to Jordan, Lauterbur got his idea from nuclear magnetic resonance, or NMR – a research tool used in chemistry to understand the molecular composition of compounds.

“[NMR] hadn’t been used in biology,” Jordan said. “He had this idea that you could use it to get biological pictures.”

NMR uses chemicals to identify the wave patterns from which chemists can deduce molecular composition. MRI, however, uses the resonance of the protons in water to indicate the composition of the object being examined.

Since water makes up 66 percent of the human body, almost any organ in the body is a prime target for MRI examination – without requiring any chemicals or invasive surgery.

Seong-Gi Kim, a professor in the Neurobiology Department of Pitt’s medical school, has used MRI in his research on brain functions since about 1991. With MRI, he produces color maps of the brain, with different colors indicating different parts.

“Different parts of the brain lead to different functions,” he said, explaining how the MRI-created maps help him to see where different functions originate in the brain.

In 1973, Lauterbur created two-dimensional structural images by altering a magnetic field, then recording the emitted radio waves – the beginning of MRI. Mansfield later improved the sharpness of the imaging, making it more useful for medical diagnosis.

But Jordan said the 30-year delay between Lauterbur’s initial accomplishment and his receipt of the award is not unusual. The winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, he said, was in his 80s – meaning his research was probably done in the 1940s or 1950s, he added.

“In the medical field, they’re looking for things that have made significant impact,” Jordan said of the Nobel Assembly, adding that they spend anywhere from a week to a month discussing a candidate for selection.

Jordan added that recent developments in computer technology have played a critical role in the display of MRI-produced images.

“This depends on development in computer software and computer hardware, too,” Jordan said.