Dennis D. Patton, MD (1930-2007) received his Bachelor of Arts degree in physics from the University of California at Berkeley and his medical degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. His work in diagnostic radiology began at the University of California at Irvine where he established the nuclear medicine service. Then he was recruited to join the faculty at Vanderbilt University, but ultimately spent most of his career at the University of Arizona. He retired in 2001 but continued multiple research and writing projects. He served two terms as the historian of the Society of Nuclear Medicine.
Thomas A. Pence (1938-2013) attended the Elkhart University School of Medical Technology in Elkhart, Indiana. He then held positions as a technician performing clinical assays in medical laboratories. In 1960 Pence trained at White Cross Hospital, now Riverside Methodist Hospital, in Columbus, Ohio, as a medical radioisotope technician. After three months of training, he became the Chief Technician in the Radioisotope Laboratory in the Hematology Division at The Ohio State University with two employees reporting to him. After nearly two years at Ohio State, he went on to be the chief technologist at multiple institutions, became interested in research to shorten the length of time to conduct tests, and expert in the safe handling of radioactive materials.
Henry N. Wagner, Jr. (1927-2012) started and ended his career at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He received both his bachelor’s and medical degrees from the University, joined the faculty in 1959 and served as a professor, researcher and administrator until his retirement in 1995. Considered one of the founders of the field of nuclear medicine, he famously offered himself as a test subject for positron emission tomography, PET scanning, that creates images of the receptors in the living brain. PET scans became a routine part of diagnosing a variety of medical conditions all over the world. For several decades Wagner gave the “Highlights” lecture at the end of the Society for Nuclear Medicine meetings that recapped each year’s achievements in the field and also chose the “Image of the Year” that illustrated the latest research in the field. His memoir, A Personal History of Nuclear Medicine, was published in 2006.
The Nuclear Medicine Oral Histories Collection (0.5 linear feet, video files) consists of audio, mini digital video and VHS cassettes of three interviews conducted by archivist Mary Manning with early practitioners in the field of nuclear medicine. The original files were transferred to digital video files by Mills/James video production company in 2024 for preservation.
During the course of their careers, the three interviewees interacted with nuclear medicine pioneer William G. Meyers in different capacities. Dennis Patton and Henry Wagner knew Meyers through the Society for Nuclear Medicine and shared Meyers’ interest in documenting the history of this relatively new field. While Thomas A. Pence recalled auditing a class taught by Meyers when he was working at The Ohio State University. The three interviewees also discussed their own careers in nuclear medicine, the development of the field, and other practitioners who made significant contributions.
These related collections are part of the Medical Heritage Center’s holdings:
This collection is arranged in two series:
Series I: Media (1 box) contains the original recordings on audio and mini digital video cassettes and access copies of the interviews on VHS cassettes.
Series II: Digital Materials (5 MP4 video files) contains digital video files of the interviews transferred from the mini digital video cassettes by Mills/James Productions in 2024.
The collection is open to the public and is available for viewing in the Medical Heritage Center. Digital materials that are part of this collection are not available online. Physical materials do not circulate and must be used in the supervised reading room.
Restrictions, including copyright, may exist and some materials may be too fragile to photocopy or digitize. The MHC charges for duplication services, which must be performed by staff.
[Identification of item], Nuclear Medicine Oral Histories Collection, SPEC.202427.NUCLEARMEDICINE, Medical Heritage Center, Health Sciences Library, The Ohio State University.