John Mugler

John P. Mugler III (Engr ’80, ’88 L/M) received the 2009 “Inventor of the Year” award from the U.Va. Patent Foundation. The award recognizes inventors whose technology has proven to be of notable value to society. Mr. Mugler, along with James Brookeman, are both professors of radiology and biomedical engineering at U.Va., and were honored for their groundbreaking work in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques over the past two decades. The researches’ lead technology is a fast, 3-D pulse sequencing technique referred to as MP-RAGE. Considered a primary standard in 3-D MRI, the technique allows clinicians to acquire high-resolution 3-D images on the order of five minutes. These highly detailed images are capable of revealing more subtle abnormalities than could previously be detected through MRI, providing for earlier and more accurate diagnoses, and can be viewed from any orientation on modern computer workstations. The U.Va. Patent Foundation received an issued patent on this technology in 1993 and has licensed the patent rights to Siemens AG and Philips electronics. As a result, MP-RAGE is now implemented in MRI scanners in hospitals and research institutions worldwide. Professors Mugler and Brookeman are now working with hyperpolarized noble gases as MRI contrast agents for the lungs, work that is being explored with colleagues at U.Va. and is in clinical trials by a major manufacturer.