18th World Congress on Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, 24–28 August 2008, Chicago, USA: presentations and awards

Abstract

When asked to introduce Larry Platt as the 2008 Gold Medal recipient, I was more than delighted to do so. One might consider this to be a daunting task. However, since Larry’s career is so robust, it was actually easy to chronicle his contributions through the years. To me, the Ian Donald Gold Medal Award is the greatest honor that one can receive in our field of obstetric and gynecological ultrasonography. Since it carries so much respect, when I heard that Larry Platt was this year’s recipient I thought to myself, ‘it’s about time’. Why? Firstly, Larry has been a prolific contributor to the literature. Secondly, he has been a tenacious supporter of ultrasound education. And thirdly, aside from Stuart Campbell, I can think of no one who has been a greater advocate for ISUOG. He has served as President of the Society, Associate Editor of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and has been on the Board for many years; he has simply put ISUOG first, ahead of his many other responsibilities. When I recently thumbed through my most recent book on ultrasound, I found that I had cited Larry’s work in five different chapters. First and foremost, one cannot mention his name without connecting it to the wonderful contribution that he and Frank Manning made in designing the biophysical profile. It is hard to believe that this was published 28 years ago, and is still being used in its original form by virtually everyone managing