Kathy Nightingale Receives AIUM’s William J. Fry Memorial Lecture Award

Kathy Nightingale, the Theo Pilkington Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering, received the William J. Fry Memorial Lecture Award from the American Institute of Ultrasound Medicine (AIUM). The award honors researchers who have made significant contributions to the scientific progress of medical diagnostic ultrasound.  Nightingale will receive the award at the  AIUM’s 2025 Annual Convention.

A key figure in Duke BME’s ultrasound group, Dr. Nightingale and her team have pioneered the development of acoustic radiation force-based shear wave elasticity imaging (SWEI) technologies – from the initial demonstration of the feasibility of the concept to its clinical implementation.  These technologies employ focused ultrasound pulses and conventional ultrasonic motion detection methods to non-invasively estimate the biomechanical properties of tissue.  Her lab was a fundamental driver of the development of shear wave imaging to quantify liver stiffness, a technique that is now used clinically for staging liver fibrosis.  These imaging tools have been so successful that they have reduced the need for invasive and uncomfortable liver biopsy procedures. She has worked in this field since its inception, and in her memorial lecture she will overview the technology, describe the early experiments, share the challenges and breakthroughs encountered during its development, review the process of clinical translation, and discuss the subsequent clinical adoption, enthusiasm, and challenges associated with its implementation for a range of clinical applications.

Nightingale is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

“I am honored and humbled to have been selected to give this lecture.  It is gratifying and highly motivating to have our work be recognized by the AIUM community through this award.  It would not have been possible without the support and effort of the many people comprising the research team in the Duke Ultrasound group and our wonderful clinical collaborators in the Duke Medical Center.”