Renowned ultrasound pioneer academic Asim Kurjak passes away aged 84

Born in 1942 in Vranic, Kotor Varos, Kurjak graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Zagreb in 1966. Following his internship, he was appointed director of the Health Centre in his hometown. Three years later, he joined the Clinic for Women's Diseases and Obstetrics in Zagreb, whilst also serving as an assistant at the Faculty of Medicine from 1970 to 1980.

During this period, he completed postgraduate studies at the University of London in 1972, passed his specialist exam in gynaecology and obstetrics in Zagreb in 1974, and defended his doctoral thesis in Belgrade in 1977. In 1979, he was appointed head of the Centre for Ultrasound Diagnostics at the Dr Josip Kajfes General Hospital in Zagreb, and by 1985, he led the World Health Organisation's collaborating centre for ultrasound in developing countries.

As a global pioneer in ultrasound diagnostics and leading perinatologist, Kurjak introduced the original transvaginal colour Doppler technique in 1986 and developed the Kurjak Antenatal Neurodevelopmental Test (KANET) in 2008 to assess fetal neurological status. He published three university textbooks in his native language alongside the first and only English textbook on perinatal medicine.

Furthermore, he founded the international association "Fetus as a Patient" in 1984 and the Ian Donald International School of Ultrasound in 1981, which established branches across 75 countries. He also founded and managed the Croatian Ministry of Health's referral centre for ultrasound diagnostics and the WHO Collaborating Centre in Zagreb.

Until 2002, he served as head of the Clinic for Gynaecology and Obstetrics at the Sveti Duh General Hospital, later becoming head of the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at the University of Zagreb. A recipient of numerous accolades, he was a member of the World Academy of Art and Science, the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, the International Academy of Human Reproduction, and was elected a full member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2012.