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.
Albert Macovski
Albert Macovski is an American Professor (Emeritus) at Stanford University, known for his many innovations in the area of imaging, particularly in the medical field. He has over 150 patents and has authored over 200 technical articles. His innovations include the single-tube color camera and real-time phased array imaging for ultrasound. He has also made significant contributions to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized axial tomography (CAT scans), and digital radiography. His honors include Founding Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, the IEEE Zworykin Award, and the gold medal of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance.