Medical ultrasound
A contrast medium for medical ultrasonography is a formulation of encapsulated gaseous microbubbles to increase echogenicity of blood, discovered by Dr Raymond Gramiak in 1968 and named contrast-enhanced ultrasound. This contrast medical imaging modality is clinically used throughout the world, in particular for echocardiography in the United States and for ultrasound radiology in Europe and Asia.
Ronald Silverman
Dr. Silverman was involved in the development of the use of high-intensity ultrasound for treatment of glaucoma. This project involved direction of an intense focused ultrasound beam at the region of the ciliary body to cause cyclodestruction. This project eventually led to a commercial device (Sonocare, Inc.) manufactured under license by Cornell, and a multicenter clinical trial. Silverman was instrumental in compiling and providing statistical analysis of treatment results from over a thousand patients treated for refractory glaucoma by this device at over 20 centers. The device became the first FDA-approved high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) system. (Several commercial HIFU systems are now in clinical use, although laser techniques based on this groundbreaking effort have supplanted this technique.)