Scanning for city’s ultrasound pioneers

Organisers of an exhibition celebrating Glasgow’s role in developing obstetric ultrasound are seeking women who had the first scans while pregnant in the 1960s.

The scans, which are now a routine part of pregnancy, were developed in the city in a collaboration between experts in the fields of clinical obstetrics, engineering, electronics and design.

Dugald Cameron, a young designer graduating from Glasgow School of Art (GSA), transformed the industrial apparatus into a manufacturable machine in his first paid commission.

GSA said his Diasonograph, developed by Glasgow company Kelvin & Hughes Ltd, was the first ever ultrasound machine for pregnancy to go into production. It was used in the Queen Mother’s Hospital (Yorkhill), making Glasgow thefirstcityintheworldtooffer the scans in the mid-1960s.

Scans now routinely used to check on the health of mother and baby and detect any abnormalities.

Organisers of the Ultrasonic Glasgow exhibition are keen to hear from women who had scans in the city in the 1960s.

PICTURES: JOHN DEVLIN AND DUGALD CAMERON/GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART/PA Dugald Cameron was a young design graduate when he transformed the industrial ultrasound into a manufacturable machine in his first paid commission