Ian Donald
English physician / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ian Donald CBE FRFPSGlas FRCOG FRCP (27 December 1910 – 19 June 1987) was an English physician who pioneered the diagnostic use of ultrasound in obstetrics, enabling the visual discovery of abnormalities during pregnancy.[2] Donald was born in Cornwall, England, to a Scottish family of physicians. He was educated in Scotland and South Africa[3] before studying medicine at the University of London in 1930, and became the third generation of doctors in his family.[4] At the start of World War II, Donald was drafted into the Royal Air Force as a medical officer, where he developed an interest in radar and sonar.[5] In 1952, at St Thomas' Hospital, he used what he learned in the RAF to build a respirator for newborn babies with respiratory problems.
Sir Ian Donald | |
---|---|
Born | (1910-12-27)27 December 1910 Liskeard, England |
Died | 19 June 1987(1987-06-19) (aged 76) |
Resting place | St Peters, Paglesham, England[1] |
Nationality | British |
Education | Fettes College, University of Cape Town, University of London, University of Glasgow |
Known for | Developing obstetric ultrasound |
Awards | CBE |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Obstetrics and Gynaecology |
Institutions | St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, Royal Free Hospital, Western Infirmary |
In 1952 Donald became a reader at Hammersmith Hospital.[6] He developed a device called the Trip Spirometer, which measured the respiratory efficiency of a neonate.[6] In 1953, he improved its design and made a positive-pressure respirator device that was known as the Puffer.[7] In September 1954, Donald was promoted to Regius Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Glasgow.[3] While working at the Western Infirmary, he met Tom Brown, an industrial engineer who worked for Kelvin Hughes, which led to a series of collaborations between Western Infirmary clinicians and Kelvin Hughes' engineers. They designed and built a series of instruments that enabled the unborn to be examined with obstetric ultrasound,[8] which allowed Donald to build the world's first obstetric ultrasound machine in 1963: the Diasonograph.[9]
Donald also secured the construction of the Queen Mother's Maternity Hospital that was built next to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.[10]