THE VALUE OF AUSTRALIAN INVOLVEMENT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SAFETY GUIDELINES FOR ULTRASOUND IN MEDICINE

Dr Stan Barnett PhD FAIUM, ASUM President and Chair of ASUM Safety Committee.

In planning future developments of ultrasound in medicine it may be instructive to reflect on the history of Australia’s involvement in research and development in this area of diagnostic medicine. Ultrasonography has developed as a relatively safe and effective modality. Newcomers to the field may not be aware of the significant and world-class contribution that has been made by Australian scientists, medical practitioners and sonographers. The Australasian Society of Ultrasound in Medicine was established through the dedication of many of those pioneers of medical ultrasound. Many of those individuals have been recognised internationally for their efforts. Nevertheless, it is appropriate that ASUM continues to publicise the activities and pursuits of its members wherever possible. Due recognition of the intrinsic value of many of the committees of ASUM should not be overlooked. The fundamental purpose of a society such as ASUM is to ensure continued professional standards of practice. This is underpinned by essential activities in developing relevant and practical standards, largely through the efforts of volunteers.

One of those activities involves the establishment of appropriate guidelines to ensure the continued safe application of ultrasound. With the modern trend towards increasing litigation, it is important that recognised sets of practical safety guidelines and international standards are developed that can limit potential medico-legal issues for unfounded arguments. The activities of various safety committees around the world are concerned with the establishment of safe practices and credible assessment of risk in all applications of diagnostic ultrasound. To achieve this end, the activities of the World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB) Safety Symposia have been extremely valuable. However, these symposia, or expert workshops, can only make recommendations and conclusions based on empirical research data. The conclusions and recommendations resulting from these symposia have been published under the endorsement of the WFUMB.

Australia and ASUM have been well represented in both the activities of the WFUMB and in the research that has contributed to the scientific database for expert evaluation. This is largely because technological development of ultrasonography in Australia has been underpinned by dedicated research into biological effects and safety of ultrasound. The efforts of the Ultrasonics Laboratory created a position of world prominence for its activities in technological research and in the study of biological effects. Research into biological effects of diagnostic ultrasound continues within the acoustic group in CSIRO in collaboration with university partners. ASUM maintains a Safety Committee whose purpose is stated: “to provide authoritative information to the membership of the ASUM and the Australian Government and public on the safety of ultrasound applications in medicine.” ASUM policy and guidelines on safe use of diagnostic ultrasound are published in a separate folder.

Australian research has consistently contributed to the development of international standards. Both the Ultrasonics Laboratory (1975-1988) and ASUM (1970-) have been represented effectively despite very modest resources. It is pleasing to see that some of this effort has been recognised in a recent publication by the WFUMB (1). This historical review highlights research activities of selected individuals who were identified for their significant contribution to the science of acoustics and bioeffects of diagnostic ultrasound. This documentation of a series of personal histories gives an interesting insight into the development of research and the particular areas of specialty in a range of countries. The review paper is edited on behalf of WFUMB by Prof. Wesley Nyborg, University of Vermont, himself one of the real pioneers, an active and productive researcher and highly respected mentor. It contains personal histories of research activities of 21 international scientists.

The present article includes extracts from the paper including the introduction by Dr. Nyborg, and a section each from Drs. Stan Barnett (ASUM President) and George Kossoff (ASUM Life Member). This is reprinted with permission of Elsevier Science from a historical review by WL Nyborg, Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, Vol 26, no 6, pp911-964. Copyright 2000 by World Federation of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology. It is appropriate that the significant contribution of decades of Australian research on ultrasound in medicine and biology is recorded in our society’s Bulletin. I trust that members will find the content of these articles to be informative and interesting.

Citation
Barnett S. The value of Australian involvement in the development of safety guidelines for ultrasound in medicine. ASUM Bulletin 2001.3:20-27.