Ian Young is an applied scientist and engineer who has made major theoretical and practical contributions to medical imaging, and in particular to magnetic resonance imaging. He designed the first commercial whole body NMR scanner, and his team produced the first images of the human head. He developed the use of spectroscopic pulse sequences to enhance image contrast; the inversion-recovery and spin-echo sequences are now widely used in clinical imaging. He introduced the concept of paramagnetic contrast agents and was involved in their clinical evaluation. Other pioneering achievements included the invention of closely coupled receiver coils, phase mapping for the measurement of blood flow and for delineating differences in tissue susceptibility. He also made an important contribution to the three-dimensional mapping of metabolites in human organs.
Dr Ian Young OBE FREng FRS died on 27 September 2019.
Subject groups
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Engineering and Materials Science
Engineering, medical, Instrumentation
Awards
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Clifford Paterson Medal and Lecture
On 'Accurate measurement in in vivo magnetic resonance: an engineering problem?'.
