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Curriculum in Cardiology
History of Medicine

Christian Andreas Doppler

Shivani Vashistha, Soumi Das
Department of Cardiology, AIIMS, New Delhi, India

Abstract
CA Doppler described the doppler effect which was a shift in the frequency of light. This theory was later used for multiple applications in
electromagnetics, astronomy, physics, aviation and health sciences. The "Doppler effect" is used extensively in cardiology.

Keywords: Christian Andreas Doppler, doppler effect, ultrasound

Introduction Academy of Mines and Forests. Due to industrial problems,

Doppler’s family was forced to move to Vienna where he was
Christian Andreas Doppler was born in Salzburg, Austria, on
appointed as the director of the Physical Institute in 1850.[2]
November 29, 1803. His father was a stonemason, and he was
By this time, his health again started deteriorating, and he
expected to join the family business, but due to his poor health
started suffering from chest pain and breathing problem, with
condition, he persuaded academics. He graduated in physics
symptoms like tuberculosis. In 1952, he traveled to Venice,
from the Polytechnical Institute of Vienna in 1825 and later,
Italy, for a better climate, but his health did not improve and
he went to the University of Vienna to study mathematics,
finally on March 17, 1853, he died of pulmonary disease in
machines, and astronomy.[1] At the end of his study, he has
his wife’s arm.
worked with Professor Burg for 4 years and in 1831, he
published his first paper “A contribution to the theory of
parallels.”[1] Unfortunately, for many years, he failed to get an Doppler Echocardiography
academic position, so he supported himself by working as a Christian Doppler in 1842 did not know that his investigation
bookkeeper at a cotton factory near the city of Bruck. He was in the field of astronomy will be used in health care.
disappointed and decided to move to the USA where he was Doppler echocardiography was not in use till the 1970s until
offered a position as a professor at the Technical Secondary Holen et al.[3] and Hatle et al.[4] refined the technique for clinical
School in Prague and later at the polytechnic school. In 1836, use. Doppler effect is an increase (or decrease) in the frequency
he married Mathilda Sturm and together the couple had five of sound, light, or other waves as the source and observer
children. move toward (or away from) each other. In echocardiography,
the moving red blood cells and the myocardial tissues and
In 1842, at a meeting of the Natural Science Section of the
structures are the targets. When an ultrasound beam is directed
Royal Bohemian Society in Prague, he presented his famous
toward these moving targets, the transducer determines the
work Über das farbige Licht der Doppelsterne (Concerning
frequency shift (Δf) which is the difference between the
the Colored Light of Double Stars), which was later published
transmitted frequency of the transducer (ft) and the received
in 1843.[2] This was his first work which stated the Doppler
frequency (fr).[5] The frequency shift is related to the velocity
effect – that the observed frequency of a wave depends on
the relative speed of the source and the observer. In 1944,
due to his deteriorating health, he was forced to take sick
leave and later in 1946, he could resume back to his duties. Address for correspondence: Dr. Soumi Das,
Department of Cardiology, AIIMS, New Delhi, India.
In 1947, he left Prague and moved to Chemnitz in Germany E‑mail: soumidas05@gmail.com
as professor of mathematics, physics, and mechanics at the

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DOI:
10.4103/jpcs.jpcs_11_19 How to cite this article: Vashistha S, Das S. Christian andreas doppler.
J Pract Cardiovasc Sci 2019;5:53-4.

© 2019 Journal of the Practice of Cardiovascular Sciences | Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow 53
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Vashistha and Das: Christian Doppler

of the moving target (v), transmitted frequency (ft), and Financial support and sponsorship
the angle between the direction of ultrasound beam and the Nil.
direction of the moving target, which is similar to the Doppler
Conflicts of interest
equation.[5] The information that is obtained from Doppler
There are no conflicts of interest.
echocardiography is flow velocity, direction of the flow, the
timing of the signal with the cardiac events, and intensity of
the flow. There are two forms of Doppler echocardiography:
References
1. Coman IM. Christian Andreas Doppler – The man and his legacy. Eur J
the pulse wave and continuous wave. Echocardiogr 2005;6:7‑10.
2. White DN. Johann Christian Doppler and his effect – A brief history.
The pulse‑wave Doppler samples velocity in a particular site Ultrasound Med Biol 1982;8:583‑91.
in the form of a pulse; therefore, limited range information can 3. Holen J, Aaslid R, Landmark K, Simonsen S. Determination of pressure
be picked up. Color Doppler is based on pulse‑wave Doppler gradient in mitral stenosis with a non‑invasive ultrasound Doppler
technique. Acta Med Scand 1976;199:455‑60.
and is mainly used to pick up valvular disease.[6] 4. Hatle L, Brubakk A, Tromsdal A, Angelsen B. Noninvasive assessment
of pressure drop in mitral stenosis by Doppler ultrasound. Br Heart J
Continuous‑wave Doppler transmits and receives continuous 1978;40:131‑40.
signals from moving red blood cells. Continuous‑wave Doppler 5. Anavekar NS, Oh JK. Doppler echocardiography: A contemporary
is used in the evaluation of valve stenosis or regurgitation and review. J Cardiol 2009;54:347‑58.
6. Katsi V, Felekos I, Kallikazaros I. Christian Andreas Doppler:
indirectly, it is used in determining the pulmonary arterial A legendary man inspired by the dazzling light of the stars. Hippokratia
systolic pressure. 2013;17:113‑4.

54 Journal of the Practice of Cardiovascular Sciences ¦ Volume 5 ¦ Issue 1 ¦ January-April 2019