The early years with Hal Anger

In the course of your day, when you interpret or count a radioimmunoassay or a sample of blood or body fluid, you will probably use a variant of the well counter invented by Hal O. Anger in the early 1950s. If you obtain or read a patient image, it probably came from some type of his gamma camera. If yoy do or see a single photon emission computed tomography study, Hal Anger showed the feasibility. Even if you are working with positrons, some of the early imaging work was done by devices Hal Anger invented. This article deals primarily with the years I spent with Hal, 1962 to 1964. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to spend this time with him when he had just completed the development of his 11-in gamma camera, the first multipurpose camera suitable for diverse clinical examinations. In retrospect, it is easy to see why Hal was honored by the Society of Nuclear Medicine as one of its pioneers and why he was the first recipient of the Ben Cassen Prize. However, it was not always clear that Hal's creative road would lead to such deserved distinction. I have tried to portray the beginnings of this journey to the best of my recollections.