Pierre Curie: the Anonymous Neurosurgical Contributor
NEUROSURGICAL FOCUS Neurosurg Focus 39 (1):E7, 2015 Pierre Curie: the anonymous neurosurgical contributor Karen Man, BAS,1 Victor M. Sabourin, MD,1 Chirag D. Gandhi, MD,1–3 Peter W. Carmel, MD,1 and Charles J. Prestigiacomo, MD1–3 Departments of 1Neurological Surgery, 2Radiology, 3Neurology and Neuroscience, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey Pierre Curie, best known as a Nobel Laureate in Physics for his co-contributions to the field of radioactivity alongside research partner and wife Marie Curie, died suddenly in 1906 from a street accident in Paris. Tragically, his skull was crushed under the wheel of a horse-drawn carriage. This article attempts to honor the life and achievements of Pierre Curie, whose trailblazing work in radioactivity and piezoelectricity set into motion a wide range of technological develop- ments that have culminated in the advent of numerous techniques used in neurological surgery today. These innovations include brachytherapy, Gamma Knife radiosurgery, focused ultrasound, and haptic feedback in robotic surgery. http://thejns.org/doi/abs/10.3171/2015.4.FOCUS15102 KEY WORDS Pierre Curie; piezoelectricity; radium brachytherapy; Gamma Knife; focused ultrasound; haptic feedback IERRE Curie (Fig. 1) was a man of singular ability in brother Jacques.6 Through the liberal attitude and support the sciences. Although he is not much celebrated in of his family, Pierre earned a Bachelor of Science degree scientific history, this may be due in part to the fact (equivalent to a General Certificate of Education)
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