History Of The Ultrasound

June 8, 2006

Ultrasound imaging remains the dominant tool for echocardiography, obstetrics, and gynecology. Doctors widely use it for evaluating newborns and older patients, screening for peripheral vascular diseases, and looking for abnormalities within the gall bladder, bladder, kidneys, aorta, and bile ducts. In anesthesiology, the technology aids the insertion of needles near delicate neural structures.

Although ultrasound diagnostics is a relatively older technology compared to computerized tomography (CT), magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET) scans, it's come a long way. Experiments started in the late 1940s, borrowing from sonar technology used in World War II.

Ultrasound didn't become a widely accepted diagnostic tool until the early 1970s. It's now the second most used medical imaging tool, and with advanced techniques such as 3D/4D ultrasound and intracavity ultrasound making an impact, the technology should remain near the top for some time.

About the Author

Roger Allan

Roger Allan is an electronics journalism veteran, and served as Electronic Design's Executive Editor for 15 of those years. He has covered just about every technology beat from semiconductors, components, packaging and power devices, to communications, test and measurement, automotive electronics, robotics, medical electronics, military electronics, robotics, and industrial electronics. His specialties include MEMS and nanoelectronics technologies. He is a contributor to the McGraw Hill Annual Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. He is also a Life Senior Member of the IEEE and holds a BSEE from New York University's School of Engineering and Science. Roger has worked for major electronics magazines besides Electronic Design, including the IEEE Spectrum, Electronics, EDN, Electronic Products, and the British New Scientist. He also has working experience in the electronics industry as a design engineer in filters, power supplies and control systems.

After his retirement from Electronic Design Magazine, He has been extensively contributing articles for Penton’s Electronic Design, Power Electronics Technology, Energy Efficiency and Technology (EE&T) and Microwaves RF Magazine, covering all of the aforementioned electronics segments as well as energy efficiency, harvesting and related technologies. He has also contributed articles to other electronics technology magazines worldwide.

He is a “jack of all trades and a master in leading-edge technologies” like MEMS, nanolectronics, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, military electronics, biometrics, implantable medical devices, and energy harvesting and related technologies.