THE HISTORY OF ULTRASOUND

Blow, bugle, blow! Set the wild echoes flying! Blow, bugle, blow! Answer echoes! dying, dying, dying. ALFRED LORD TENNYSON Over the past 40 years, ultrasound has become an important diagnostic modality. Its potential as a leader in medical diagnostic imaging was recognized in the 1930s and 1940s, when Theodore Dussik and his brother Friederich attempted to use ultrasound to diagnose brain tumors. It was not until the 1970s, however, that the work of these and other pioneers of ultrasound research truly came to fruition. With technologic advances, ultrasound has progressed from a large, cumbersome machine producing suboptimal images to a portable, user-friendly, and sophisticated instrument. Such evolution has required the marriage of physics, physiology, medicine, engineering, and government. This article recounts the major developments in the evolution of ultrasound and highlights some notable contributions made by pioneers in this field.