MRI scanner inventor honoured with hospital plaque
A professor of medical physics whose team invented the MRI scanner has been honoured with a plaque in the hospital of his home town.
Prof John Rowland Mallard OBE was born in Northampton in 1927 and began to develop Magnetic Resonance Imaging technology in Aberdeen in the 1960s. He died in 2021.
The plaque was unveiled at Northampton General Hospital on Saturday, outside an MRI suite.
Prof Rowland's children said the unit was "the perfect place to have dad's memorial plaque".
Prof Mallard’s son and daughter, John and Katriona, attended the ceremony along with managers from the hospital’s radiology department, the Mayor and Mayoress of Northampton and members of the Hereditary Freemen’s Trustees.
“It is so wonderful that dad’s pioneering work in medical imaging is honoured in Northampton, where he was born and raised," they said.
“Dad said his work would not have been possible without the wonderful support of his family and school teachers in Northampton, and funding from the Northampton Borough Education Department.”
'Ground-breaking'
Prof Mallard published research in a journal in 1964 which indicated that magnetic resonance could be used to diagnose cancers.
Colleagues said this "went largely unnoticed".
The technology behind MRI was then developed in the 1970s by the late Sir Peter Mansfield and his team at the University of Nottingham.
But it was Prof Mallard's team in Aberdeen that was responsible for developing the world's first full-body MRI scanner.
At the plaque’s unveiling, Mayor Stephen Hibbert, said: “Prof Mallard’s ground-breaking work enabled huge advances in medical science and has undoubtedly saved countless lives around the world.
“We are forever proud that such an accomplished individual hailed from Northampton.
"The plaque will ensure that he is further recognised as part of the town’s history.”
The idea of a plaque was first suggested by the Northampton Hereditary Freemen Trustees, who helped to arrange the installation.
Northampton General Hospital's Deputy Supt Radiographer, Lisa Whitton, said: “MRI scanning has had a major impact on the world of medicine and opened new doors for us in terms of accurate investigation and diagnosis.
“Prof Mallard’s work has significantly enhanced modern medicine and we are very proud to have his achievements celebrated in our hospital.”
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