Michel Ter-Pogossian

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Michel M. Ter-Pogossian
Ter-Pogossian in the late 1960s
Born(1925-04-21)April 21, 1925
Berlin, Weimar Republic
DiedJune 19, 1996(1996-06-19) (aged 71)
Paris, France
NationalityArmenian
CitizenshipUnited States
EducationUniversity of Paris
Institute of Radium
Washington University in St. Louis
Years active1950–1996
Medical career
FieldNuclear medicine,[1] radiology, biomedical sciences[2]
InstitutionsMallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (Washington University School of Medicine)
AwardsCanada Gairdner International Award (1993)

Michel Matthew Ter-Pogossian (April 21, 1925 – June 19, 1996) was an American medical physicist.[3] He was professor of radiology at the Washington University School of Medicine for over 30 years. A pioneer in nuclear medicine,[4] he is best known for his research on the positron emission tomography (PET). He is considered one of its creators and often referred to as the "father of PET."[5][6]

Early life[edit]

Ter-Pogossian was born on April 21, 1925, in Berlin to Armenian parents from the Ottoman Empire that escaped the Armenian genocide.[7][8] He was the only child.[9] His family later moved to France, where Ter-Pogossian grew up.[9][7] He developed an early interest in science and experimented with toy physics and chemistry kits as a child.[9][8][7] Ter-Pogossian attended the University of Paris, from which he received his bachelor's degree in mathematics[1] in 1942[3][7][8] or 1943.[10][9] He subsequently studied at the Institute of Radium under Irène Joliot-Curie, graduating in 1946.[3][9][10] He was active in the French Resistance during World War II.[7][8]

Career[edit]

Ter-Pogossian moved to the United States in 1946 to complete his studies.[9][8] He preferred the US over Britain because the former seemed "more exciting."[7][8] He enrolled at Washington University in St. Louis as a graduate student in 1946.[10] He was drawn to the university by and studied under Arthur Compton, who was also the university's chancellor at the time.[3][9] He simultaneously worked in the physics department as a research assistant.[10][9] Ter-Pogossian received his master's degree in 1948,[9] and his Ph.D. in nuclear physics from Washington University in 1950.[10][3]

He joined the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University in 1950.[10][9][11] In the same year he also joined the faculty of Washington University School of Medicine as an instructor in radiation physics.[7][2] He was named professor of radiation physics in 1961, professor of biophysics in physiology in 1964, and professor of radiation sciences in 1973.[2][7]

Between 1963 and 1991 Ter-Pogossian served as director of the division of radiation sciences at the Mallinckrodt Institute.[2][7][8][a] After resigning from administrative duties in 1990, Ter-Pogossian devoted all his time to research.[7] He was a self-proclaimed "research junkie".[10][8] He became emeritus professor in 1995.[2][7][9]

Work[edit]

Ter-Pogossian spent his entire professional career at Washington University's Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology.[3] His research focused on "increasing the number of practical clinical applications of cerebral scanning."[11] His work resulted in improvement of medical imaging, radiation therapy, and brachytherapy. He developed a new type of nuclear medicine gamma camera, known as the "Ter-Pogossian camera."[10][3]

In 1951 Ter-Pogossian developed a pioneering scanner that detected radioactivity concentrations in living material.[1][8] In the mid-1950s he "reported the first biomedical application of a sodium iodide detector for the diagnosis and localization of intracranial tumors."[1]

Positron emission tomography (PET)[edit]

Ter-Pogossian was a pioneer in the use of cyclotron-produced radioactive tracers.[7] He is best known for his work on the positron emission tomography (PET). His research began in the 1950s with a series of experiments that made PET a "practical diagnostic tool"[3] by the 1970s.[1][8]

His early work led to the installation of a small biomedical cyclotron in the basement at the Washington University Medical Center in 1963.[1] He persuaded several government agencies to support the research.[3] It was the first cyclotron in the US located in a medical center.[1] The cyclotron produced short-lived, positron-emitting radionuclides intended to be used to develop techniques for measuring regional cerebral blood flow, oxygen metabolism, blood volume, and glucose metabolism.[1] The first PET unit was created in 1974 by the group led by Ter-Pogossian.[1] A decade later, PET units of that design were "used in many medical centers throughout the world."[1]

Ter-Pogossian is recognized to have "led the research that turned the positron emission tomography (PET) scanner from an intriguing concept to a medical tool used in hospitals and laboratories everywhere."[8] With Edward J. Hoffman and Michael E. Phelps "he played a major role turning positron imaging from a laboratory concept into practical imaging protocols and devices that are currently used worldwide."[7]

Personal life and death[edit]

Ter-Pogossian married visual artist Ann Dodson (née Scott), of St. Louis, in 1966.[12] Ann (1932–2022)[12] had a master's degree in Egyptology and participated in exhibitions from 1973 to 2003, including the prestigious Florence Biennale.[13] After her marriage to Michel, she signed her work and exhibited under the name Ann Ter-Pogossian. Ann had two sons and a daughter by her first marriage.[12][3][8] The Ter-Pogossians were residents of Clayton, Missouri.[14]

Ter-Pogossian was described by Ronald G. Evens as a "citizen of the world."[3] He traveled extensively and was a gourmet and a scuba diver.[10] He died on June 19, 1996, of apparent myocardial infarction in Paris, while on a vacation.[8][10][3][7]

Recognition[edit]

Ter-Pogossian was an "internationally known pioneer in the use of cyclotron-produced radionuclides in biomedical research."[10] Frans Wackers noted that he is "widely recognized as one of the fathers of PET imaging."[7] He has been called "the father of PET" by some.[5][3][10][9] Ter-Pogossian emphasized that PET is the product of teamwork and elaborated:[15]

...when somebody referred to me as the father of PET, I said, "I'd rather be the mother of PET, because many offspring have many fathers, and only one mother. As a matter of fact, some offspring have no father at all!" Of course there are many fathers. [...] [it's obvious that] there are masses of fathers of PET. Again, the important point is—I'm not suggesting that to you; it is probably obvious—is again the convergence of so many different disciplines. The development of the scintillation counter, artificial radioactivity, and so on.

Awards[edit]

Membership[edit]

Ter-Pogossian was a member of many professional societies: charter member of the American Nuclear Society, fellow of the American Physical Society,[9] honorary fellow of the American College of Radiology,[1] Institute of Medicine (elected in 1987).[9]

He was a trustee of the Academy of Science, St. Louis and served as an adviser to several Department of Energy, National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration committees.[1][10][9] He served on the editorial boards of several journals, including the American Journal of Roentgenology, the Journal of Nuclear Medicine, and the Journal de Biophysique & Médecine Nucléaire.[9][10] He was the first editor of the IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging, published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.[2]

References[edit]

Notes
  1. ^ Other sources indicate 1973 as the year he became head of the Division of Radiation Sciences.[9][10]
Citations
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Michel Ter-Pogossian Honored as Nuclear Medicine Pioneer". The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. 26 (5): 449. May 1985.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Vannier, Michael W. (August 1996). "In Memoriam: Michel M. Ter-Pogossian". IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging. 15 (4). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers: 401. doi:10.1109/TMI.1996.511744. PMID 18215922.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Evens, Ronald G. (September 25, 1996). "Michel M. Ter-Pogossian, PhD". JAMA. 276 (12). American Medical Association: 1002. doi:10.1001/jama.1996.03540120080044.
  4. ^ Kanno, Iwao; Takahashi, Miwako; Yamaya, Taiga (2020). "Michel M. Ter-Pogossian (1925–1996): a pioneer of positron emission tomography weighted in fast imaging and Oxygen-15 application". Radiological Physics and Technology. 13 (1). Japanese Society of Radiological Technology and Japan Society of Medical Physics: 1–5. doi:10.1007/s12194-019-00549-z. PMID 31828719.
  5. ^ a b Rich, D. A. (March 1997). "A brief history of positron emission tomography". Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology. 25 (1): 4–11. PMID 9239597. He was considered by many to be the father of PET...
  6. ^ "Michel Ter-Pogossian (1925-96)". Science Museum, London. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. He became widely known as the 'father of PET'.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Wackers, Frans J. Th. (August 2018). "Michael M. Ter-Pogossian (1925-1996)". Journal of Nuclear Cardiology. 25 (4): 1090–1091. doi:10.1007/s12350-018-1313-9. PMID 29869324. S2CID 46934249.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Saxon, Wolfgang (June 21, 1996). "Michel M. Ter-Pogossian, 71; Led Research on PET Scanner". The New York Times. p. 25.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Michel M. Ter-Pogossian (1925-1996)". Bernard Becker Medical Library. Washington University School of Medicine. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. originally published in Kunkler, Vicki (Summer 1996). "Michel M. Ter-Pogossian (1925-1996)". Focal Spot. 27 (2). Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Welch, Michael J.; Kunkler, Vicki L. (1996). "Obituaries: Michel M. Ter-Pogossian". Physics Today. 49 (11): 100–101. Bibcode:1996PhT....49k.100W. doi:10.1063/1.881602.
  11. ^ a b c Kaufman, Ron (June 14, 1993). "Five Americans Receive 1993 Gairdner Awards". The Scientist. Archived from the original on 5 January 2020.
  12. ^ a b c "Ann Garrison Scott Dodson Ter-Pogossian". Family Search. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  13. ^ "Ann Ter-Pogossian Biography". Artnet. Artnet Worldwide Corporation. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  14. ^ "Deaths: Michel M. Ter-Pogossian". The Washington Post. June 25, 1996.
  15. ^ Dumit, Joseph (2004). Picturing Personhood: Brain Scans and Biomedical Identity. Princeton University Press. pp. 41-44. ISBN 9780691113982.
  16. ^ "Paul C. Aebersold Award Recipients" (PDF). Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2020. 1976 Michael M. Ter-Pergossian, PhD
  17. ^ "Michel M. Ter-Pogossian BA MS PHD". gairdner.org. Gairdner Foundation. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021.
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