A UNIVERSITY of Nottingham professor who was one of the pioneers behind the creation of the MRI scanner will be presented with an award today.

Sir Peter Mansfield, Emeritus Professor of Physics at the university, was the first to step inside the original whole body MRI scanner despite warnings that it could be dangerous.

He shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with late colleague Paul Lauterbur in 2003 for their development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which can detect cancer and damage to the body's tissues and bones.

Sir Peter will today receive the Medical Research Council's Millennium Medal at an awards ceremony at the university. The award recognises research that has made a major contribution to the health and wealth of our society.

He said receiving the Millennium Medal was an "immense honour" but put his success down to the University of Nottingham's then-Vice Chancellor Sir Colin Campbell's encouragement.

"Our achievements in designing and developing the MRI scanner gave us all a sense of satisfaction in the knowledge that we were able to help many sufferers of a range of illnesses," he said.

"In those early days, of course, MRI was used to image all parts of the body; these days, especially at Nottingham, MRI has evolved to study the brain and brain function under the leadership of Professor Peter Morris."

MRC chief executive Sir Leszek Borysiewicz said: "MRI has revolutionised medical diagnostics and research, enabling exact and non-evasive imaging of human internal organs.

"This prestigious award recognises and celebrates Sir Peter's achievements in the development of MRI, which today is a multibillion dollar industry.

"All major hospitals are equipped with MRI whole body scanners, with an estimated 10,000 systems in use worldwide."