Page 46 - Volume 8, Issue 4 - Winter 2012

Jeffrey Vaitekunas holds a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University, an M.S. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (Applied Mathematics) from Northwestern University and a Ph.D. in Bioengineering/Engineering Mechanics from the University of Cincinnati, culminating with a dissertation titled: Ultrasonic Surgical Instruments: A Multi- Variate Study for Cutting-Rate Effects. Jeff has been involved with ultrasonic technology for over twenty-five years, with over twenty years working in the high-power medical field. Holding 22 US issued patents and many publications, of particular note to this article is US Patent No. 7,553,284 titled Focused Ultrasound for Pain Reduction. Jeff’s initial foray into the ultrasound-nerve interaction occurred serendipitously when, while playing with a prototype laparoscopic ultrasonic coagula- tion device, he accidentally caused loss-of-sensation in his pointer finger, the sensation returning over a week after the insonification event. This event led to his continuing interest in ultrasound / nerve interactions.
Robert Muratore received his B.E.S. degree from The Johns Hopkins University in bioengineering, his M.S.E. from Princeton University in mechanical engineering, and his Ph.D. from Syracuse University in biophysics. He has worked in ultrasound for fifteen years, beginning with his work in Dr. Frederic Lizzi’s group at Riverside Research. He has served as president of the Ultrasonic Industry Association and co-chair of the 11th International Symposium on Therapeutic Ultrasound. He is a founding editor of the Journal of Therapeutic Ultrasound. His research focuses on ultrasonic therapies, originally via ablation and more recent- ly via sub-ablation stimuli. He consults and teaches in the New York City area.
42 Acoustics Today, October 2012