From radio-astronomy to medical imaging

A common thread in much of the medical imaging that has developed over the past 20 years has been the Fourier transform. It was Richard Bates' interest in radio-interferometry, as well as his fascination with problems of medical imaging that prompted an initial interest in applying Fourier techniques to medical imaging in general and to Computed Tomography in particular. This resulted 20 years ago in one of the earliest technical papers advocating Fourier techniques for reconstructing cross-sections from radiographic projections (Bates and Peters, NZ J Science 14:883-896, 1971). Since those early days, medical imaging has explored into a multi-billion dollar industry. The CT scanner has become the workhorse imaging modality in the radiology department, while its more recent relative, the MR scanner, is rapidly gaining ground as a technique of even greater importance. Richard Bates, with his team of "Medical Imagers" was a very significant force in the development of the field of Medical Imaging as we know it today. This paper attempts to chronicle the genesis of this process from the personal perspective of the author.