Peter Wells made a number of notable contributions to the application of engineering and physics in medicine. He was the originator and developer of instruments for ultrasonic surgery and ultrasonic power measurement, as well as the two-dimensional, articulated-arm ultrasonic general purpose scanner and the water-immersion ultrasonic breast scanner.
He demonstrated ultrasonic-pulsed Doppler range gating, and was the discoverer of the ultrasonic Doppler signal characteristic of malignant tumour neovascularisation. He investigated ultrasonic bioeffects and formulated ultrasonic safety guidelines and conditions for prudent use of ultrasonic diagnosis.
Peter led multidisciplinary studies of ultrasonic diagnosis and made major contributions to the advancement of light transmission, electrical impedance and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, as well as to interventional telepresence. He also proposed a novel philosophy of medical imaging. He had been developing ultrasonic Doppler and phase-insensitive tomography. In 2013, he received the Royal Medal of the Royal Society.
Professor Peter Well CBE FMedSci FREng FRS died on 22 April 2017.
Biographical Memoir
Professional position
- Distinguished Research Professor , School of Engineering, Cardiff University
- Emeritus Professor of Physics and Engineering, University of Bristol
Subject groups
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Health and Human Sciences
Medical instrumentation
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Other
History of science
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Engineering and Materials Science
Engineering, medical
Awards
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Royal Medal
For pioneering the application of the physical and engineering sciences to the development of ultrasonics as a diagnostic and surgical tool which has revolutionised clinical practice.
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Royal Medal
