A Machine Called Indomitable; The Remarkable Story of a Scientist's Inspiration, and Medical Breakthrough

[6], 250 pages. Index. Complementary copy sent from the Fonar Corporation of Melville, New York, per printed note on half-title page. Handwritten note from Raymond Damadian on the fep. This book is the remarkable, inspirational story of a visionary scientist who, against incalculable odds in a lonely pursuit lasting more than twelve years, doggedly, successfully, fulfilled his dream. In essence, Dr. Damadian had created an accessible, safe, nonradiological means of determining the chemical makeup of every cell in the body. When he had first conceived of the potential of such a diagnostic tool--at a previously unimaginable size and power--that might scan the human body and distinguish diseased cells from healthy ones earlier than ever before possible, the experts told him it couldn't be done. Characteristically, Dr. Damadian, inspired by a death in his family and a mysterious malady of his own, proved them wrong. This is a gripping, uplifting story of an incredible achievement; of dedication, hard work and courage--of invention in the finest American tradition. Profiles the scientist who adapted for clinical use a nuclear magnetic resonance scanner that can detect the difference between a cancer cell and a normal cell by its chemistry, and which may replace X-rays, surgery, and CAT scans. Sonny Kleinfield is a reporter for the New York Times and the author of eight books. He has contributed articles to the Atlantic, Harper's Magazine, Esquire, and Rolling Stone, and was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal before joining the Times. Raymond Vahan Damadian (born March 16, 1936) is an American physician, medical practitioner, and inventor of the first MR (Magnetic Resonance) Scanning Machine. Derived from a Kirkus review: The history of science brims with episodes of nasty bickering between rival scientists over credit for major discoveries observes New York Times reporter Kleinfield in this fast-paced narrative of the development of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imagery. The contenders were Paul Lauterbur, a chemist, and Raymond Damadian, a physician/biophysicist/mathematician. NMR as a phenomenon was discovered in the 1940's; it has to do with the fact that the protons in atomic nuclei of most atoms behave like tiny bar magnets. Normally, they are randomly oriented, but they can be forced to line up in two different arrays when a strong external magnetic field is imposed. If a radio signal is then beamed at the appropriate (resonating) frequency, the protons in one array absorb the signal and flip over to the other array. When the signal is turned off, the nuclear particles return to their resting state. Physicists used this property effectively to analyze complex molecules. The idea of using NMR to make 3-D images of living tissues occurred to both Lauterbur and Damadian in the 1970's; both were aware that living tissue is about 80% water and water's hydrogen atoms give off the most powerful NMR signals. Moreover, both were convinced that NMR images would show significant differences between normal and cancerous tissues. But their personalities, professional standings, and approaches were miles apart. Damadian was brash and braggadocio--just the sort of new boy on the block to raise the hackles of senior scientists and conservative grant administrators. Sheer backbreaking work and an ability to enlist the devotion of an odd assortment of lab talents finally won the day for Damadian: his machine called "Indomitable" produced the first whole body images of living human tissue. Kleinfield has a fine reporter's eye and ear for detail, describing the chaos of Damadian's lab during the assembly of the Indomitable, and telling such hapless tales as Damadian's trekking off to Plains, GA, to enlist the aid of any and all Carters to fund his dream. Details of machine assembly will likely appeal to Popular Science, types, for this sort of bio-technology is truly a marriage of electronics and mechanics.…