Have you ever faced a health crisis that called for an MRI? You can thank Dr. Raymond Damadian for the medical and scientific benefits of this cutting-edge technology. Dr. Damadian was an outstanding American physician, medical practitioner, inventor of the first MR (magnetic resonance) scanning machine, and champion of creation science. His MR invention was designed to accurately and safely scan the human body, a method now known as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Indeed, Dr. Damadian is known as the “father of the MRI.” This incredible discovery has enhanced and saved many lives. Dr. Damadian’s MRI scanner prototype—called “Indomitable”—is now on permanent display at the Smithsonian Institution’s Hall of Medical Sciences.¹

Today, the MRI is the leading medical diagnostic imaging method, creating an industry that generates over $10 billion per year. MRIs are able to spot diseased tissue or injury more precisely, safely, and efficiently than any other medical imaging technique. Over 60 million MRI scans are performed each year.

When he was only 15, Raymond Damadian won a Ford Foundation Scholarship, enabling him to earn a mathematics degree at the University of Wisconsin. He earned his medical degree at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and later did graduate work in biophysics at Harvard.

Damadian taught at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center and later created an MRI scanner company. As a gifted scientist, he wrote many articles in peer-reviewed science journals, including a much-quoted cover article on MRI in the prestigious journal Science.¹

In 1989, Dr. Damadian was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, alongside Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and the Wright brothers, where he was awarded the respected Lincoln-Edison medal. In 1988, he received a National Medal of Technology.

In 1957, Raymond Damadian was saved at a Billy Graham crusade in Madison Square Garden. As a new Christian, he began to extensively read theology and science, specifically the evolution-creation issue. Questions he had regarding Darwinian evolution were answered, and he became very knowledgeable regarding creation science, later serving on the board of ICR.¹

In a 1999 article, he stated:
Dr. Damadian is to be applauded and celebrated as a scientist who was willing to look at the evidence and conclude—contrary to his extensive secular education—that creation means a Creator, leading him to the feet of the Grand Designer. We are saddened by his recent passing but simultaneously rejoice, knowing he is enjoying the presence of the Great Physician, the Lord Jesus Christ.

References
1. Bergman, J. Raymond Damadian, Inventor of the MRI. Creation Science Update. Posted on ICR.org April 30, 2015, accessed September 19, 2022.
2. Damadian, R. Discovering the MRI Scanner. Guideposts, January 1999, 23.

*Dr. Sherwin is Research Scientist at the Institute for Creation Research. He earned an M.A. in invertebrate zoology from the University of Northern Colorado and received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Pensacola Christian College.