Obituary

David John Dewhurst, AM, BA(Hons), MSc, PhD, FIEAust, FIPEMB, outstanding teacher, pioneer in the field of biophysics and medical instrumentation, Honorary IFMBE Life Member and former IFMBE President, passed away on 4 March 1996, aged 77.

David was born in a country town in Victoria, Australia, where his father was the vicar of the local church. He obtained his BA in Classics in 1939, acquiring an excellent knowledge of Latin and Greek. He intended to follow his father into the ministry, but after serving in a Signals unit in the Middle East during the Second World War, he studied for his BSc in Physiology and Electronics.

In 1949 he was appointed Lecturer in Physiology at the University of Melbourne. He soon transformed a small electrophysiology laboratory into a renowned centre of medical instrumentation. He received his PhD in 1959 for research into cell membrane physics, and in 1964 he was appointed Reader in Biophysics.

Of the early years, he would quote Rutherford: "We had no money so we had to think". He and his technical staff built numerous innovative instruments for the Physiology Department's research and teaching, using war disposals components.

A 1957 University of Melbourne publication reports on his design for a cardiac defibrillator. By 1960 he was using intracellular recording and electromyography to study human muscle physiology with undergraduate and postgraduate students.

David had the ability to make ideas work, to do his 'back of a tram ticket' feasibility calculations and make complex ideas comprehensible; he was a born teacher. He had an encyclopaedic memory, and his conversation was peppered with quotations from an extraordinary range of sources (Chaucer, Aristotle, Gilbert and Sullivan etc.) which his students and colleagues were expected to identify if possible.

In 1961 Dr Dewhurst established a course in Medical Electronics for biological researchers, which ran for many years and had a major influence on medical technology and research in Melbourne. The course notes ultimately appeared as a book.

In 1966 he acquired a PDP-8, the first mini-computer in Melbourne. He used it to teach computer skills to his students and colleagues, and to the wider biomedical community with a course on computer methods in biological research.

Dr Dewhurst became interested in international biomedical engineering activities during a sabbatical year in Cambridge, UK, in 1959 and became involved in activities of the fledging IFMBE.

He became a member of the IFMBE Administrative Council in 1963, Vice-President in 1965 and President from 1967 to 1971. The 9th International Conference on Medical & Biological Engineering was held in Melbourne under his chairmanship. He served on numerous IFMBE committees over the years and, in 1979, was made an Honorary Life Member.

From 1977 to 1988 he wrote a column for the IFMBE newsletter called 'On the real axis'. The articles ranged widely; observations on the practice of biomedical engineering, its human relationships, ethics, illustrated by comments on topics that included wombats, Omar Khayyam, steam engines and the Plague. In 1991 the IFMBE published a selection of these very popular articles as a book which was launched at the World Congress in Kyoto. Dr Dewhurst was delighted that some articles were translated into Swedish and published in Medicinsk Teknik.

In addition to his work in medical computing, he continued his interest in developing new medical technology and was involved in the design of the first cochlear ear implant, the bionic ear.

He made a proud contribution to the development of standards for medical equipment and was also involved in the introduction of magnetic resonance imaging into Australia.

David's disabled son Peter inspired his strong commitment to the needs of disabled people. This found expression in FRED, an interactive teaching device that has given many severely disabled people a degree of independence and the conviction that they can achieve something. This work was recognised in 1990 when he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for 'services to biomedical engineering for people with disabilities'.

David, together with his wife Marjorie, attended many IFMBE meetings over nearly four decades and made many lasting friends in the international biomedical community. We shall miss his cheerful manner and wise counsel.

RICHARD KIRSNER