The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet on Monday awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2003 jointly to Paul C Lauterbur and Peter Mansfield for their discoveries concerning magnetic resonance imaging.

In a statement, the academy said the two have made "seminal discoveries concerning the use of magnetic resonance to visualise different structures. These discoveries have led to the development of modern magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, which represents a breakthrough in medical diagnostics and research".

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Lauterbur (born 1929), Urbana, Illinois, USA, discovered the possibility to create a two-dimensional picture by introducing gradients in the magnetic field. By analysis of the characteristics of the emitted radio waves, he could determine their origin. This made it possible to build up two-dimensional pictures of structures that could not be visualized with other methods.

Mansfield (born 1933), Nottingham, England, further developed the utilisation of gradients in the magnetic field. He showed how the signals could be mathematically analysed, which made it possible to develop a useful imaging technique. Mansfield also showed how extremely fast imaging could be achievable. This became technically possible within medicine a decade later.

Magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, is now a routine method within medical diagnostics. Worldwide, more than 60 million investigations with MRI are performed each year, and the method is still in rapid development.