ORGANISERS of an exhibition celebrating Glasgow’s role in developing the use of ultrasound in pregnancy have launched a search for the women who had the world’s first scans in the 1960s.
The scans were developed in the city in a collaboration between clinical obstetrics, engineers, electronics experts and design specialists. Dugald Cameron, a designer graduating from Glasgow School of Art (GSA), transformed the industrial apparatus into a manufacturable machine.
GSA said his Diasonograph, developed by Glasgow company Kelvin & Hughes Ltd, was the first ultrasound machine for pregnancy to go into production. It was used at the Queen Mother’s Hospital.
The GSA exhibition, Ultrasonic Glasgow, will be held in October. Susan Roan, a researcher in communication design, said: “We are keen to hear from the women who had a scan and people who worked with the equipment in the mid-1960s.
“We hope to be able to record interviews with the generation of women who were the first to have access to technology which is now available to women in pregnancy across the globe.”
After a period working in industry, Cameron returned to GSA and was eventually director of the art school.
Anyone interested in telling GSA about their experiences is asked to email ultrasoundstories@gmail.com or write to The Glasgow School of Art, Communication Design Staff Office, Floor 1, Reid Building, 167 Renfrew Street, G3 6RQ.
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