The Long Road to Stockholm：The Story of Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Inthisautobiography,SirPeterMansfielddescribeshislifefromwartimechildhoodthatinitiallysparkedhisinterestinphysicstohisworkinmagneticresonanceimaging(MRI)thateventuallyledtotheawardoftheNobelPrizein2003.PeterMansfieldgrewupinLondon,butwasevacuatedtoDevonduringtheblitzandfollowingtheV1andV2attacksonLondon.Attheendofhostilities,heworkedbrieflyintheprintingindustrybeforedecidingtopursuehisrealinterestsinsciencebyjoiningtheRocketPropulsionDepartmentatWestcottnearAylesbury.FollowingaperiodofNationalServiceandhisstudiesatQueenMaryCollege,UniversityofLondon,hemarriedandmovedtotheUSAfortwoyears,returningin1964asaLecturerinPhysicsattheUniversityofNottingham.In1972hespentasabbaticalperiodinHeidelberg,andduringthisperiodcorrespondedwithhisstudent,PeterGrannell,inNottinghamonthenovelideaofmagneticresonanceimaging.ThisledtohisfirstpaperonMRIwhichwaspresentedatthefirstSpecialisedColloqueAmperein1973.Duringthisperiod,hedemonstratedhowtheMRIradiosignalscanbeanalysedandturnedintoimagesofthebody.In2003theNobelPrizeinPhysiologyorMedicinewasawardedjointlytoSirPeterandPaulLauterburfortheircrucialachievementsinthedevelopmentofMRI.