The bright minds beyond our machines: Henry Coandă and his ideas.

Most cardiologists rarely remember that new ideas dedicated initially to completely different areas, are the technological background of most medical devices. Also, they almost ignore the bright minds beyond these ideas. The Coandă effect, vital in the color-Doppler assessment of valvular regurgitations with eccentric jets--bears the name of a Romanian inventor whose life (1886-1972) was mostly dedicated to aeronautics and who is considered the 'father' of jet engines. His fluid dynamics discovery was patented in 1934, but its importance for medical applications was recognized much later.