builds a model tomographic scanner
Oldendorf is best known for his contribution to the development of computerized axial tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, referred to as the CAT scan and MRI. These techniques, which were derived from Oldendorf’s research regarding isotope scanning of the brain, allowed scientists and doctors to identify and observe various illnesses and provide the most accurate treatments.
In 1960, William Oldendorf patented an electronically based device that could capture image slices continuously through a solid object. He was a physician but also an inveterate tinkerer and a member of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, one of IEEE’s predecessor societies. What Oldendorf’s device lacked was the computational power to turn those image slices into a single 3-D image.