Ian Donald

Who was Ian Donald?

Ian Donald was a Scottish physician who pioneered the use of diagnostic ultrasound in medicine. Whilst Professor of Midwifery at Glasgow University, he first explored the use of ultrasound in the 1950s after seeing it used in the Glasgow shipyards to look for flaws in metallurgy. He became Regius Professor of Midwifery in 1955. His article Investigation of Abdominal Masses by Pulsed Ultrasound, published 7 June 1958 in the medical journal The Lancet, was one of the defining publications in the field. Ultrasound has become an important aid to diagnosing foetal progress during pregnancy.