Trisha Sudhakar Many medical advancements have led to how humans live in the world today. Out of these advancements, a very notable one includes the magnetic resonance imaging scan or MRI. The MRI scanner has the ability to show all body structures, including tissues, organs, and bones by utilizing magnetism. It is used in hospitals all across the world to efficiently diagnose patients with the correct medical condition. To fully understand the significance the MRI has today, it is important to become familiar with the history and development that comes behind it. Using Thomas Hughes’ five stages of development of a system, one will be able to become accustomed with the impact of the MRI. Phase one of the technological system is simple: the invention …show more content…
As previously mentioned, the MRI mainly works as a form of magnetism, so let’s begin with that. Magnetism was first discovered by the usage of iron hundreds of years ago. In an unknown part of history, it was found that pieces of the iron ore attached to unmagnetized iron. However, the MRI was more closely related to the theory of electromagnetism founded by James Clerk Maxwell. Maxwell demonstrated how electric and magnetic fields can work together to create radio waves, light, and X-rays. Albert Einstein expanded on Maxwell’s theory with his theory of relativity in which Einstein described the electric and magnetic fields as two separate entities that coexist with one another . All of this information is highly regarded when discussing the invention of the MRI. Raymond Damadian is known as the father of the MRI, however, there is still some controversy whether he should be known as the official inventor. Damadian first used nuclear resonance imaging in the late 1960s to determine the possibility of it