Museum celebrates RPH role in HIV research race
17 April 2023
A very special exhibit has opened at the Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) Museum – one that encapsulates the primary role played by the hospital in the discovery of HIV in human tissue.
As part of the Boorloo Heritage Festival which ran over the weekend of April 15th, the RPH Museum showcased the transmission electron microscope (TEM), which remains in its original position since it was first commissioned in 1980 at the old hospital building.
It was using this microscope that Dr John Armstrong and Mr Robert Home of the RPH Department of Anatomical Pathology along with their dedicated team won the global race to demonstrate the presence of virus particles in patients with HIV infection.
Dr Armstrong captured the first image of the virus particles in human tissue, something which ultimately shaped the way AIDS was treated and diagnosed across the world.
Dr Armstrong made the landmark disco...