John Bentson, MD, a neuroradiologist who developed an enhanced brain and spinal cord imaging device, died of COVID-19 complications at the age of 83 Dec. 28, The New York Times reported Feb. 12.
In the 1970s when the use of CT scans and computer imaging was still new, Dr. Bentson developed a flexible guidewire used to safely inject contrast dye needed for brain imaging diagnostics and the treatment of aneurysms. Prior to Dr. Bentson's model, guidewires were stiff and had the potential to damage blood vessels.
The device, widely known as a Bentson guidewire, is still in use today.
"He liked to push boundaries if he thought he could help a patient," Erika Drazan, MD, Dr. Bentson's daughter, told the Times. "He liked saying that the vessels in the body are just like a tree, and that he could get where he wanted through them by feel."
Dr. Bentson earned his medical degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1961. In 1969, he joined UCLA Medical Center where he worked until retirement in 2014. In 1971, Dr. Bentson was named chief of UCLA's neuroradiology department. Prior to UCLA, he spent time in Peru as a medic on a missionary team, and served in the U.S. Army as a radiologist in South Korea.
Dr. Bentson is survived by his wife, three children and six grandchildren.
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