Seiji Ogawa

Seiji Ogawa (小川 誠二 Ogawa Seiji, born January 19th, 1934) is a Japanese researcher best known for discovering the technique that underlies Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. In 2003 he received the Japan Prize for his work. He determined that the contrast in blood oxygen levels can be mapped in magnetic resonance imaging, thus showing which areas of the brain are responding to the brain's electrical signals.

In March 2007 Seiji Ogawa was the winner of the 2007 ISMAR prize, awarded by the International Society of Magnetic Resonance. The prize carries a cash award of $5000, which will be presented at the ISMAR annual meeting held in Kenting, Taiwan in October 2007. Ogawa also received a Gold Medal award from ISMAR (1995), and the Biological Physics Prize of the American Physical Society in 1996.