Medical ultrasound covers both diagnostic imaging and therapeutic applications that use sound waves above 20,000 hertz, beyond the upper range of human hearing, transmitting pulses into tissue and recording the returning echoes to build an image of internal structures. Obstetric sonography, one of its earliest major clinical applications, was developed in the late 1950s and 1960s by Ian Donald, with parallel development across France, Scotland, Sweden and the United States. Today ultrasonography serves specialties across medicine, including echocardiography to assess heart valves and muscle function, Doppler studies of blood flow, fetal monitoring in pregnancy, trauma assessment in emergency medicine, and image guidance for biopsies and fluid drainage.
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Obstetric sonography, developed by Ian Donald in the late 1950s and 1960s, was one of the earliest major clinical applications of medical ultrasound.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Medical Ultrasound
Wikimedia FoundationHistory section, obstetric sonography origin
Obstetrical sonography was originally developed in the late 1950s and 1960s by Ian Donald.
Gynecology and obstetrics history, Wikipedia Medical ultrasound
These findings were reported in The Lancet on 7 June 1958 as "Investigation of Abdominal Masses by Pulsed Ultrasound"
entity description, Medical Ultrasound
Medical ultrasound covers both diagnostic imaging and therapeutic applications that use sound waves above 20,000 hertz, beyond the upper range of human hearing, transmitting pulses into tissue and recording the returning echoes to build an image of internal structures.
View the Source Frequently Asked Questions
Who developed ultrasound for looking at pregnancy?
Ian Donald, whose early findings appeared in The Lancet in June 1958.
Obstetric sonography was developed in the late 1950s and 1960s by Ian Donald, with parallel development in France, Scotland, Sweden and the United States. His early findings were reported in The Lancet on 7 June 1958 under the title Investigation of Abdominal Masses by Pulsed Ultrasound.
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