A new perspective on the role of mathematics in medicine

Abstract

The aim of this expository article is to shed light on the role that mathematics plays in the advancement of medicine. Many of the technological advances that physicians use every day are products of concerted efforts of scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. One of the ubiquitous applications of mathematics in medicine is the use of probability and statistics in validating the effectiveness of new drugs, or procedures, or estimating the survival rate of cancer patients undergoing certain treatments. Setting this aside, there are important but less known applications of mathematics in medicine. The goal of the article is to highlight some of these applications using as simple mathematical formulations as possible. The focus is on the role of mathematics in medical imaging, in particular, in CT scans and MRI. Keywords: Computed tomography, CT scan, Radon transform, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Compressed sensing