The Radiology Department at Wye Valley NHS Trust has paid tribute to Nobel laureate Sir Peter Mansfield, who pioneered Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and died last week.

Physicist Sir Peter led a team which experimented with strong magnetic fields to “see” the organs inside a body in the 1970s.

The new technique gave surgeons the ability to see the body’s internal organs without potentially harmful X-rays by utilising strong magnetic fields and radio waves.

Sir Peter was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology in Medicine in 2003 for his research.

It has been hailed as one of the most important breakthroughs in modern medicine.

His skill and determination lead to the first scanners which have evolved to become the sophisticated MRI scanners used in hospitals around the world – including the scanner used at Hereford County Hospital.

Liz Williams, MRI superintendent at Wye Valley NHS Trust, said: “Having worked in research myself I can appreciate how tiny positive and negative steps can help contribute to something amazing further down the line.

“The development of the MRI service here in Hereford has likewise seen many progressive steps since the initial installation of our first MRI scanner back in 2001,” added Liz.

“When I look back at the path the radiology team at Hereford has travelled over the years as new MRI applications have been embraced, I realise how far clinical MRI has come.

“We, and many of our patients, owe this thanks to Sir Peter’s determination and dedication to his work.”