Fonar Corp. v. General Electric Co.
"Fonar" was a dispute between medical device manufacturer Fonar Corporation and General Electric over Fonar's patent on MRI technology. Fonar's founder, Raymond Damadian, was issued U.S. Patent 3,789,832 (priority date 1972-03-17) for an "apparatus and method for detecting cancer in tissue" using the magnetic resonance of atoms. Damadian's patent was the first patent on an MRI machine issued in the United States. Also at issue was a later patent, U.S. Patent 4,871,966 issued in 1989, covering a method for obtaining MRI images of multiple planes at different orientations in a single scan. GE is a major manufacturer of MRI scanners, and Fonar sued GE for infringing these patents by producing its scanners as well as inducing others to infringe.
W. Ironside Bruce
William Ironside Bruce (1876 – 21 March 1921) was a physician in Europe who conducted early research on the use of X-rays. He headed the X-ray departments at Charing Cross Hospital and at the Hospital for Sick Children. He wrote an early book on X-ray techniques and he was president of the radiology section of the Royal Society of Medicine. In 1921, Bruce was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia, which his physicians attributed to his work with X-rays. He died two months after being diagnosed with the illness. Bruce's death led to the establishment of an X-ray safety committee in Great Britain.