Thursday, February 19, 2015 The University of the Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, confered the Honorary Doctor of Science Degree upon Martin Buchalter, MS, founder of Parker Laboratories, Inc. The award was accepted by Carol Buchalter, wife and Board Chairman of Parker Laboratories, Inc.
When Martin Buchalter graduated from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science in 1955, ultrasound therapy typically was applied to the patient as he or she was immersed in water. “You had to submerse the body part in water in order to perform the procedure.” he once recalled. This was a very cumbersome process, and he felt “there has to be a better way.” “Patients were not comfortable in water with a big electronic machine around them.”
A few years after receiving his pharmacy degree, Buchalter revolutionized the medical application of ultrasound by developing an easy-to-use transmission gel that once applied to the patient’s skin, provided the medium that the ultrasound waves needed to enter the body tissue.
Today Martin’s ultrasound gel, Aquasonic®100, is the flagship product of Parker Laboratories, a New Jersey company that he founded, and is still owned by the Buchalter family. Parker Laboratories remains the leading manufacturer of medical ultrasound and electromedical contact media, including gels, solid gels, lotions, and pads. Parker products are recognized globally by healthcare professionals as the standard of excellence and the products of choice.
Martin Buchalter passed away in 2008, at his home in New York City. He is survived by his wife Carol; three children; and six grandchildren. USciences is recognizing his distinguished contributions to improving medical practice, and to benefit students at University of the Sciences.
About the Honorary Doctor of Science Degree at USciences
In the 19th century, the practice of pharmacy still relied heavily on centuries-old folk wisdom passed down from apothecary to apothecary. In 1820, the apothecaries met in Carpenters’ Hall to establish the basis for the improved scientific standards we enjoy today and to train more competent apprentices and students. They pledged “to invite a spirit of pharmaceutical investigation” and to guard the public. A year later, they organized and incorporated PCP—the first college of pharmacy in North America. The group ushered in a new era of the practice of pharmacy—the identification, selection, compounding, and analysis of drugs—and laid the foundation for a legacy of future advances and discoveries.