Ter-Pogossian moved to the United States in 1946 to complete his studies.[9][8] He preferred the U.S. 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 WashU in 1950.[10][3]
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
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)
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 U.S. located in a medical center.[1] The cyclotron produced short-lived, positron-emittingradionuclides 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
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
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.
