Died 14 April 1993 | ||
Alice Ettinger (October 8, 1899 - April 14, 1993) was a radiologist and faculty member of the Tufts University School of Medicine. She brought the "spot film" technique from Germany to the United States, which enhanced X-ray diagnostic capabilities, particularly in gastrointestinal imaging.
Biography
Born in Berlin in 1899, Ettinger attended medical school in Germany and completed residency training in medicine and in radiology. In 1932, prominent German radiologist Hans Heinrich Berg sent Ettinger to the United States to demonstrate the "spot film" device that he had created. Fluoroscopy was a popular X-ray technique at the time, but the disadvantage to this method was that it did not leave a permanent image on film until Berg's device was introduced. Ettinger was only going to stay in the United States for a few weeks, but she permanently relocated to Boston as faculty of the Tufts University School of Medicine.
Ettinger's introduction of the "spot film" introduced opened up the possibility of modern gastrointestinal imaging capabilities in the United States. She was also involved in the creation of the Northeastern University program for X-ray technicians, one of the first of its kind. By 1959, Ettinger became the chair of the Tufts radiology department and she was engaged full-time in practice and teaching until 1970. She remained associated with Tufts as the head of the radiology teaching program until she was 86 years old. In 1984, Ettinger received the ACR Gold Medal Award from the American College of Radiology.
In 1993, Ettinger died of pneumonia in a nursing home in Norwood, Massachusetts. The American Association for Women Radiologists presents the Alice Ettinger Distinguished Achievement Award to recognize a career of service to the association and to the radiology profession.