Comments on: A Half Century of Selective Coronary Arteriography

By: WilliamSheldon

WilliamSheldon — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:53:33 +0000

We enjoyed writing this article.
Sones was a bit of a maverick but he knew on the day of this serendipitous observation that he had stumbled onto something big. He and Shirey had explored coronary artery visualization in dogs, and sinus of Valsalva injections in humans, but the prevailing sentiment that intracoronary injections would be too risky. He subsequently was concerned that enthusiasts would move too rapidly and encounter problems that would negate the value of coronary artery arteriography.
Yet I think he never fully appreciated how much it would revolutionize the management of coronary artery disease. We have come a long way in 50 years!

By: Jacobo Kirsch, MD

Jacobo Kirsch, MD — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:56:58 +0000

Very interesting reading! While the serendipity of how the first coronary angiographic images were obtained is already of relative common knowledge, what is not necessarily as well known was Dr. Sones involvement in all aspects of developing the modality, from technique to X-ray equipment optimization. It reminds us of the Wright brothers not only building an airplane, but going through the pains of inventing the first wind tunnel and many other security and aerodynamic concepts that are as much a part of their legacy. By being meticulous and thorough, Dr. Sones and his associates not only described their “accident”, but took it to the next level.

By: Paul Schoenhagen, MD

Paul Schoenhagen, MD — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:49:30 +0000

An interesting perspective for those involved in coronary imaging.