Ludo van Bogaert (1897-1989)
was one of the most distinguished neuroscientists of the 20th century. He enjoyed worldwide recognition for his 753 publications, his countless lectures at Belgian and foreign universities and at international congresses, and his training of more than 300 specialists from all over the world in the Bunge Institute and the Born-Bunge Foundation.
Finally, in 1957 he became the founder and president - during two terms of 4 years - of the World Federation of Neurology (WFN).
His lifework finally merged in the University of Antwerp and his memory also lives on by the generous donations of his library to the Royal Library AlbertI in Brussels and his Rik Wouters' collection to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp
film material
Well documented filmed cases are a particular but poorly known part of the scientific heritage of Ludo van Bogaert. The arrival of Edison’s Kinetoscope (1891) and Lumière’s Cinématographe (1895) provoked the immediate interest of neurologists who foresaw the potential of motion pictures for illustration, research and teaching. Ludo van Bogaert has filmed many of his neurologic patients.
He left us a record-office full of film material on 16 and 35mm films in the Institute Born-Bunge. The first movies of van Bogaert date back to 1923. Part of the 35mm films are already restored in the Royal Belgian Film Archive and transferred to a digital submaster. The content is mostly about movement disorders (myoclonus, tremor, ataxia, dystonia, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, Wilsons’ disease, etc.). Also neurologic disorders in monkeys (Antwerp Zoological Institute) were filmed for scientific purposes. Ludo van Bogaert’s films were never published: he only used them for illustration at symposia and congresses.
Van Bogaert’s films were certainly not the oldest in their kind, but his film material is particular and well conserved. Most of his filmed neurologic cases are preceded by an introduction of the patient (initials, date of observation, diagnosis) and are complemented with an extended clinical examination and short resume of the evolution of the disease. This well documented material opens many perspectives for research. For most of the films, a corresponding article in Travaux de l’ Institut Bunge can be found and compared to the contemporary understanding of the disease.