The Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS) is mourning the death on February 27 of Donald W. Baker, a pioneer in the field of medical ultrasound, particularly in Doppler technology.
Baker helped invent and produce the first commercial medical Doppler instruments for noninvasive analysis of the human cardiovascular system, the SDMS said.
Born on April 12, 1932, in Skagway, AK, Baker served four years in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. Following this service, he earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the University of Washington in Seattle. In 2002, he received the university's Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus Award, and in 2016, he was honored by Life Science Innovation Northwest as the first inductee into the Washington Life Science Hall of Fame.
"Don's innovations and contributions to sonography, particularly Doppler, enable us to provide both tremendous diagnostic information and optimal patient care," said Tammy Stearns, SDMS' president, in a statement. "I can't imagine what sonography would be like without his passion and skills to advance the technology over the years."
