Friday, April 25, 1986
Daily Nebraskan
Page 5
Nuclear scan pioneer aft UNL
By Lise Olsen
Senior Reporter
Paul Lauterbur can see through human
bodies, He can find tumors without performing
operations and test blood without making any
one bleed.
And so can anyone elso who uses the technol
ogy Lauterbur adapted almost 15 years ago.
Lauterbur will speak about his research,
which has become a useful tool for both physi
cans and researchers, and describe new tech
nology that he's developing at a special awards
program at 3:30 p.m. Friday, 104 Hamilton Hall.
Lauterbur was the first to apply nuclear mag
netic resonance to scan the human body.
Unlike X-rays or cat-scanning techniques,
NMR does not use radiation. The procedure,
which takes from 15 minutes to one hour, is
harmless and painless except for claustro
phobic people.
NMR uses a strong magnetic field, created by
an extra large soup-can shaped magnet. The
magnet aligns randomly spinning atom nuclei in
the human body. Later, radio waves are used to
tip the nuclei. When the waves quit, the nuclei
move back to their original positions. A compu
ter records the position and reconstructs three
dimensional images clearer than X-rays of
body parts or functions.
Currently about 500 NMR image devices are
; V
o J V
Lauterbur
used in hospitals nationwide, Lauterbur said. At
a cost of about $1 million each, they're not
selling like hotcakes.
Yet slowly and conservatively the machines
are making their way into the labs and hospitals
throughout the country, Lauterbur said. Some
say his techniques are revolutionizing medicine.
Attack proves need for wisdom
COHEN from Page 4
Official Washington seems to have little
appreciation of this. When it is not busy
celebrating a military victory over a sandbox
nation ruled by a kook in a doorman's
uniform, it is thinking of ways to compound
the problem by showing contempt for history.
House and Senate Republicans, led by Majority
Leader Robert J. Dole, have introduced legis
lation that would give the president an even
freer hand to respond to terrorist attacks. In
an unintended assessment of their own worth,
these Republicans would no longer require
the president to consult with Congress before
sending U.S. troops into a hostile situation.
But if the strike against Libya proves
anything, it is how much the president ought
to consult with Congress. With every day, the
second-guessers are looking better and wiser.
If ever there was a time to ensure the
maximum participation of people with wis
dom, experience and a different point of view,
it is now. Instead, some members of Congress
can hardly wait to give the president carte
blanche and some journalists seem to equate
reflection and dissent with cowardice and
virtual treason.
War is ugly and the celebration of it nearly
as ugly. The raid on Libya may have been
necessary but it is hardly a cause for celebra
tion, a reason to ignore history, or a rationale
for squelching criticism. The United States
did what it thought it had to do just as it
did in 1975 when 41 U.S. servicemen died
attempting to rescue 39 captured seamen
who may have been already freed. That
incident should serve as a reminder.
1986, Washington Post Writers Group
Cohen writes an editorial column for the
Washington Post.
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