One of CT's pioneers has succumbed to colon cancer. David King, who was the lead engineer working with Sir Godfrey Hounsfield on the development of the first CT scanner, died of colon cancer April 24. King also played a key role in the development of electron-beam CT, and is best known as the founding father of coronary calcium imaging with CT.
As an employee of EBCT developer Imatron and later GE Healthcare, King pioneered the use of using EBCT to measure the build up of calcium deposits in the arteries, and through it the early detection of coronary heart disease. The technique has now gained worldwide acceptance, and close to 200,000 scans were performed in the first 10 years of its use. The Society of Atherosclerosis Imaging honored King with a lifetime achievement award at the American Heart Association last year.
Less known is the fact that King produced the world's first abdominal CT images by modifying a brain scanner. This paved the way for modern rendering techniques and further breakthroughs, such as virtual colonoscopy.
King was working as director of clinical sciences at GE Imatron in South San Francisco, CA, when he passed away. He was also consultant director of clinical services at the Mount Sinai Medical Centre, Miami Beach, FL.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writersApril 30, 2004
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