History of Radiology

Ultrasound Scanning

Ultrasonic underwater detection systems were developed after the Titanic sank in 1912 and for the purpose of underwater navigation by submarines in World war I. Between 1914 and 1918 SONAR was in great demand for the detection of German submarines at sea. The medical use of Ultrasound started in Glasgow. Professor Ian Donald M.D. and his colleagues, working at the University of Glasgow’s Department of Midwifery were the first to apply ultrasound as a diagnostic modality in the fields of obstetrics and gynaecology, which proved to be some of the most successful early clinical applications of the technique. Many of the earlier medical uses of ultrasound had been directed towards the detection of foreign bodies, tumours and applications within echoencephalography and echocardiography with disappointing results. Donald was eventually able to obtain a Mark IV flaw detector from the Kelvin Hughes Company which allowed him to launch a series of clinical investigations. By 1956, he was able to use the A-mode equipment to distinguish between ascites, ovarian cysts and fibroid tumours on the basis of their echo patterns.

Prof.Ian Donald

Ian Donald was born in Scotland in 1910 and educated at Warriston School in Moffat, Fettes College in Edinburgh and following the family move to South Africa he graduated BA from the Diocesan College in Cape Town. He then studied medicine and was awarded MB BS at London University in 1937. During 1942-1946 he served as a medical officer in the RAFVR; was mentioned in dispatches and awarded the MBE for rescuing airmen from a burning aircraft. In 1951 he became Reader in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at St. Thomas Hospital Medical School and, at what is now, the Royal Post-Graduate Medical School in 1952. During this time he received a Research Scholarship from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists for work on neonatal respiration and in 1954 gave the Blair Bell Memorial Lecture on that subject. In the autumn of the same year he accepted the Regius Chair of Midwifery at Glasgow University, where, to quote his own words he "arrived with the residue of a Leverhulme Research grant from the RCOG, a rudimentary knowledge of radar from my days in the RAF and a continuing childish interest in machines, electronic and otherwise". This was combined with an awareness of echo-sounding (hence the preference for the term sonar) and contact with some of the few others in the world who were interested in its possible medical applications. In recognition he received many honours including the Eardley Holland gold medal (RCOG), Blair Bell gold medal (RSM), Victor Bonney Prize (RCS of England), Honorary DSc from London and Glasgow Universities, CBE in 1973 and an Honorary FRCR in 1983. In 1984 Ian Donald and Tom Brown were made the first Honorary members of this Society. Only a fortnight before he died Ian made the journey to the Royal College of Physicians of London to receive an Honorary Fellowship. Prof Ian Donald died in 1987.

Nuclear Medicine

Nuclear medicine has a complex and multifaceted heritage. The roots of nuclear medicine go back to Henri Becquerel's discovery of radioactivity in 1896. The idea that radioactivity results from the spontaneous discharge of an element was developed by Frederick Soddy in 1903. Ernerst 0. Lawrence developed the cyclotron in 1931, and paved the way for major experiments later conducted at the Radium Institute in Paris. Irene Curie, the daughter of Pierre and Marie, and her husband, Frederic Joliot, produced artificial radioactive isotopes in early 1934. After the Joliot-Curie announcement, physicists from around the world began to search for additional types of radioactive isotopes. Within twelve months, over a hundred new forms of artificial radioactive material had been discovered.The origins of Nuclear Medicine stem from many scientific discoveries, most notably the discovery of x-rays in 1895 and the discovery of "artificial radioactivity" in 1934. The first clinical use of "artificial radioactivity" was carried out in 1937 for the treatment of a patient with leukemia at the University of California at Berkeley.

A landmark event for nuclear medicine occurred in 1946 when a thyroid cancer patient's treatment with radioactive iodine caused complete disappearance of the spread of the patient's cancer. This has been considered by some as the true beginning of nuclear medicine. Wide-spread clinical use of nuclear medicine, however, did not start until the early 1950s.

The value of radioactive iodine became apparent as its use increased to measure the function of the thyroid and to diagnose thyroid disease. Simultaneously, more and more physicians begin to use "nuclear medicine" for the treatment of patients with hyperthyroidism. The concept of nuclear medicine was a dramatic breakthrough for diagnostic medicine. Moreover, the ability to treat a disease with radiopharmaceuticals and to record and make a "picture" of the form and structure of an organ was invaluable.

In the mid-sixties and the years that followed, the growth of nuclear medicine as a specialty discipline was phenomenal. The advances in nuclear medicine technology and instrument manufacturers were critical to this development.

The 1970s brought the visualization of most other organs of the body with nuclear medicine, including liver and spleen scanning, brain tumor localization, and studies of the gastrointestinal track.

The 1980s provided the use of radiopharmaceuticals for such critical diagnoses as heart disease and the development of cutting-edge nuclear medicine cameras and computers. The use of computers, laser printers and software have transformed Nuclear Medicine. Today, there are nearly 100 different nuclear medicine procedures that uniquely provide information about virtually every major organ system within the body. Nuclear medicine is an integral part of patient care, and an important diagnostic and therapeutic specialty in the armamentarium of medical science.

Contents

History of Radiology

Ultrasound Scanning

Nuclear Medicine