IThe University of Aberdeen has been awarded The Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in recognition of the achievements of its Department of Biomedical Physics and Bioengineering in developing new techniques for medical imaging . The award will be announced formally at a ceremony in St James’s Palace, London at 5.30pm on Thursday 16 November, 2000.
The Award has been given to recognise the fact that “For over thirty years, the University has been a pre-eminent institution in the field of non-invasive medical imaging technology. Patients world-wide have benefited from its innovatory research, pioneering new techniques and clinical applications arising from world-leading fundamental research initiated at the University”.
Chancellor of the University, Lord Wilson of Tillyorn said: “This is tremendous honour for the University and a very public recognition of the significant achievements of the Department of Biomedical Physics and Bioengineering during the past thirty years.
“Millions of people throughout the world benefit from the advances in medical diagnosis that have originated from the Department’s pioneering research.”
Principal of the University, C Duncan Rice, added: “This is a day of great pride and delight, not only for the members of the Department whose hard work and achievements are being recognised today but for the whole University community.
“Ever since King James IV endowed at the University in 1497 the first Chair of Medicine anywhere in the English-speaking world, we have held to the view that medicine is for society. That means placing our knowledge and skills at the service of patients across the world and, in doing so, our distinguished graduates and scholars have brought international recognition to Aberdeen.
“An excellent example is Professor John Mallard, a past Head of the Department, who did so much to ensure that clinical imaging technology is as successful as it is today. This Award recognises his achievements as well as those of his colleagues and of the first-class staff who today continue to develop innovative diagnostic techniques to help tackle major illnesses and diseases.”
In the 1970, the Department developed the first instrument in the UK capable of producing images of slices of the human body. The technique, known as single photon emission computed tomography – SPECT, involved the use of a special camera to captured images of a labelled drug that had been injected into the patient; with the aid of a computer this data was displayed as 3D images showing organ function. This technique is in routine use in hospitals world-wide.
Perhaps the most significant work that the Department has done is the discovery of a technique, known as spin-warp imaging, that was the crucial breakthrough in allowing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to become the valuable clinical imaging tool that it is today.
Head of the Department of Biomedical Physics and Bioengineering, Professor Peter Sharp, said: “While the Department is immensely proud of its pioneering work in MRI it is aware that there is still much it can do to help the doctor diagnose and treat disease. For example we are working on a development of MRI that will allow the doctor to produce images showing the distribution of free radicals in the body. Free radicals are highly reactive molecules that are involved in a whole variety of diseases, such as cancer and heart disease. This technique should give us an entirely new window into the body.
“In ophthalmology, we have just commercialised computer software which automatically analyses images of the eye for early signs of diabetic damage. Diabetes is the most common cause of blindness in the working age
population Our software makes it possible to screen all diabetics regularly and so pick up the disease before it can cause irreparable damage. We have also developed a scanning laser opthalmoscope which gives three dimensional, full colour image of the retina, the only such instrument in the world.”
Professor Sharp continued: “We have recently set up the John Mallard Scottish PET Centre, a multi-million pound facility which allows us to study disease using the technique of positron emission tomography (PET), that produces images of the body’s biochemistry. We have already demonstrated that it can measure the effectiveness of chemotherapy for breast cancer, allowing the doctors to select the most effective drug before the disease has had the opportunity to spread.”
“As well as our research, we have always accepted that we have an obligation to train the next generation of scientists and for over 30 years we have run postgraduate courses in medical physics and medical imaging, alongside our doctoral studies programmes. We also run an annual summer school in MRI which attracts people from all over the world.”
The Award will be presented by HRH The Queen at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace on 15 February 2001, following a National Celebration Banquet held the previous evening in The Guild Hall.
An embargoed interview and photo opportunity has been arranged in the Department at 11.30am on Wednesday 15 November. Refreshments will be available from 11.15m This will be attended by the Principal, Professor Steve Logan (Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Medical Sciences), and Professor Peter Sharp. A tour of a number of the Department’s past research successes and current projects will be available. Please do not use any of the information or photographs from this opportunity until 0001 hours on Friday .
Entry to the Department is from Cornhill Road, just at the junction with Ashgrove Road West. A limited number of spaces have been reserved in the Institute of Medical Sciences Car Park on Ashgrove Road West. The attendant will give directions. A map giving directions is available by contacting Angela Begg on 01224 272960.
Further information from :
Christine Cook, Executive Director of Public Relations, Tel: 01224 272014
The Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education recognise and reward the outstanding contribution that universities and colleges in the United Kingdom make to the intellectual, economic, cultural and social life of the nation. The Prizes are awarded within the national honours system.
The Prizes Scheme was established in 1993 by The Royal Anniversary Trust, a charity set up initially to bring about the national programmes to mark the Fortieth Anniversary in 1992 of The Queen’s Accession to the Throne. The first prizes were awarded in 1994 and are awarded biennially until 2002.
The sixty-five Prizewinners of the three completed Round demonstrate the breadth and depth of the outstanding work that universities and college in the United Kingdom bring
University Press Office on telephone +44 (0)1224-273778 or email a.ramsay@admin.abdn.ac.uk.