Modern Diagnostic Medicine

In 1986, one of the world’s leading experts on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Professor Raymond Andrew of the University of Florida, gave the first public exhibition in Britain of the benign technique of investigating the human body in a Discourse at the RI. He gave the background to the technique, which derives from magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which is described in this chapter. The pinnacle of his talk, summarised in this chapter, was the image of his own head that he had recorded in Florida, a few weeks earlier. Other techniques are now being used to explore the condition of human bodies, including their illnesses, are also described here, including the powerful technique of positron emission tomography. A non-mathematical account of the principle involved in these powerful new medical technologies is given in this chapter.