Morris Simon
Dr. Morris Simon, MB, BCH, (1926–2005) was a South African-born American radiologist, professor, and inventor. His medical practice was based primarily at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, where he specialized in chest radiology.[1] He is also credited with a number of medical inventions, including a flexible filter for dissolving blood clots, and innovations that streamlined patient care and records holding.[2]
Early life
Morris Simon was born in Johannesburg, South Africa.[2] He was the son of working-class Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, and the older brother of the writer, playwright, and director Barney Simon. He was the father of four boys, including the American artists Adam Simon Jason Simon, publisher Dan Simon, and teacher and labor organizer Mark Simon.[2]
Education and career
Simon received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Witwatersrand University, South Africa. In 1949, together with his wife Josephine, they moved to London, where he received his training in Radiology and imaging at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons.[1]
In 1958, he was recruited by
Throughout his career, Simon published a number of articles and medical scholarship, which ranged in focus from radiological approaches to pulmonary hypertension, innovative CT imaging approaches to pulmonary arteries and the lungs, and early detection of pulmonary embolisms.[3][4][5][6]
Death
Morris Simon died of cardiac arrest at age 79 on January 17, 2005, at his home in Boston. At the time he was serving as Professor Emeritus at Harvard Medical School, and also the Radiologist in Chief and Director of Radiology at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston.[1]
Legacy, inventions, and innovations
Simon is credited as inventing and developing a number of advances in the medical field.
Simon-Nitinol Vena Cava Filter
Simon participated the first nationwide collaborative pulmonary embolism trial in the early 1970s. It was in this context that he developed a widely used flexible filter to catch and dissolve clots in the bloodstream, the "Simon-Nitinol Vena Cava Filter." Simon modified the alloy for use at or below body temperature.
In its colder form, the filter is more compact. It is inserted through a catheter into the patient, then expands when it reaches the temperature of the body.
Simon-Leeming Medical Classification
Simon also implemented the Simon-Leeming Medical Classification, which was used across the entirety of
Additional innovations and honors
Simon is also credited for developing a number of other technical innovations, including a second blood filter that is meant to be removable, a needle used in
In January 2006, the Department of Radiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center dedicated their most advanced chest readings room in his memory as the "Simon Room."[1]
Records of Morris Simon's medical research are held in the Morris Simon Papers, 1934–2005 collection at the
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Morris Simon" (PDF).
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
- ISSN 0037-198X.
- PMID 12819339.
- PMID 11418425.
- PMID 12797609.
- ^ US design D259546, Simon, Morris, "Design for combined ruler and magnifying caliper", published 1981-06-16
- ^ "Collection: Morris Simon papers | HOLLIS for". hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
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