Abstract
The Magnetic Resonance Project 35-26-7 started in December 1987, commissioned by the [then] Cuban Prime Minister, Fidel Castro, who—concerned about introducing technological advancement into the Cuban health [system]—had for some months taken an interest in the possibility of building magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment for medical diagnosis in Cuba (Zito M, Argüelles MM et al, Y sin embargo–: ciencia: hablan 30 investigadores cubanos. Editoria April, Habana, pp 56–66, 1999; Cabal, Biofísica Médica. In: Fidel Castro Dìas-Balart (eds) Cuba. Amanecer del Tercer Milenio. Ciencia, Sociedad y Tecnología: Biofísica Médica. Debate Editorial, Madrid, pp 31–48, 2002). Many of the companies producing MRI equipment were unable to deliver this technology to Cuba due to the bloqueo, the United States embargo against Cuba. Those who were later to advance the project’s progress in scientific technology initially regarded the implementation of such a project in a developing country as unfeasible due to its complexity. But Fidel’s belief and confidence and in turn the Cuban scientists’ commitment to him and to Cuban science proved to be an undeniable factors for its success.
Founding director of the Center of Medical Biophysics of Santiago de Cuba and research director of NMR project 35-26-7 until 2006, currently working in molecular MRI at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Havana.
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Notes
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Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez was the first Cuban citizen to travel into earth orbit. He was also the first Hispanic and first black person in space. Tamayo, along with Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Romanenko, was launched into space aboard Soyuz 38 from Baikonur Cosmodrome on September 18, 1980, at 19:11 UTC.
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Cabal Mirabal, C.A. (2014). Magnetic Resonance Project 35-26-7: A Cuban Case of Engineering Physics and Biophysics. In: Baracca, A., Renn, J., Wendt, H. (eds) The History of Physics in Cuba. Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science, vol 304. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8041-4_17
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