Morris Simon, Developer of Flexible Blood Clot Filter, Dies at 79
NY Times
Dr. Morris Simon, a Harvard radiologist and medical innovator who developed a widely used flexible filter to catch and dissolve clots in the bloodstream, died on Monday outside his home in Boston. He was 79.
Dr. Simon had a history of heart problems, and the cause was apparently cardiac arrest, said a son, Jason Simon of Manhattan.
In developing his device, the Simon nitinol vena cava filter, Dr. Simon began research in the 1960’s with an untested metal alloy of nickel and titanium. The alloy, called nitinol, had been created for military and aerospace applications, and it could be manipulated to change shape at different temperatures.
In its colder and compact form, Dr. Simon’s filter is inserted into a patient through a catheter, then expands to full size when warmed by the patient’s body. The filter locks in place near the heart, acting as a sieve to stop blood clots from traveling toward the lungs. The device entered clinical testing in the 1980’s, was approved and remains in use today.
