Figure 1. Early model MRI machine by General Electric (
Source)
Brief: Magnetic resonance imaging was discovered at roughly the same time as an induced magnetic field. In 1882, Nikola Tesla discovered the rotating magnetic field. Professor Isidor I. Rabi observed the quantom phenomenon called the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. This occurs when atomic nuclei show their presence when exposed to a sufficiently strong magnetic field. It was not until 1971 that Raymond Damadian found that cancerous tissue radiate radio waves longer than healthy cells when the NMR machine was turned off. He shortly applied for a patent afterwards in 1972. Being granted the patent in 1974, he produced the first MRI machine by hand and had the first successful test on a human patient. 1987, real time imaging is now capable over the heart and brain. By the late 1990's the MRI machine started to be used as a staple in medical centers throughout the world.
