Ralston Paterson

James Ralston Kennedy "RP" Paterson, CBE, MC, MD, FRCSEd, FRCR, DMRE (Cantab) (21 May 1897 – 29 August 1981) was a radiologist and oncologist in Scotland. Along with Herbert Parker, pioneered the development of the Paterson-Parker rules for the Radium Dosage System also known as the Manchester system.

James Ralston Kennedy Paterson, also known as Ralston Paterson or 'RP' Paterson was born on 21 May 1897 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He attended George Heriot’s School and upon graduation served as an officer in World War I with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and was decorated with the Military Cross. After the War he went back to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and in 1923 awarded MB, ChB (Latin: Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae) with honors, in 1926 completed FRCSEd, and in 1927 granted the MD with commendation. At Edinburgh he met his future wife and colleague Edith Irvin Jones. The couple had 3 children, sons David, Colin, and daughter Elspeth.

In 1925 interest with radiology led to DMRE at Cambridge. Paterson went to the Mayo Clinic for a fellowship in radiology. He received further training in radiotherapy at clinics at the University of Chicago, in Toronto and South Africa. He returned in 1930 to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh as acting director of the radiotherapy department.

In 1931, Paterson was appointed as radiotherapy director of the recently combined Holt Radium Institute and Christie Hospital in Manchester. In November 1943, Paterson was invited by the government of Australia including Queensland and Victoria to assist with the establishment of a cancer institute that would provide medical care and services to the community. The Australian government allocated £100,000 for an institute dedicated to cancer treatment and research, with treatment methodologies to focus on X-ray and Radium. Paterson retired in 1962 and devoted his efforts to the running of a top-notch cattle and sheep farm at Stenreishill, near Moffat, Scotland. He died at home in his sleep.

Peterson received numerous accolades and awards in his career.

• British Association of Radiotherapists, president, 1938-1939
• Founding member, Faculty of Radiologists
• President, Faculty of Radiologists, President, 1943-1946
• MC, 1917
• MB, ChB with Honors, Edinburgh, 1923
• DMRE (Cantab), Canterbury, 1924
• MD with Commendation, 1927
• FRCSEd, Edinburgh, 1927
• FFR, 1938
• FRCS, 1948
• CBE, 1950
• Professor of Radiotherapy, University of Manchester, 1960
• Gold medal, Society of Apothecaries, 1961
• President, International Radiological Congress in London, 1950
• Gold Medal, Faculty of Radiologists, 1966

• Working with Herbert Parker, developed the Paterson-Parker rules for the Radium Dosage System also known as the Manchester system.
• Paterson Research Laboratory

• Paterson, Ralston, and Herbert M. Parker. (1934). "A dosage system for gamma ray therapy." The British Journal of Radiology. 7(82): 592-632.
• Paterson, Ralston, and Herbert M. Parker. (1938). "A dosage system for interstitial radium therapy." The British Journal of Radiology. 11(124): 252-266.