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[Mayo Clinic, Waters Instruments]

George Waters

Interview:
1 1/5 hours, August 12, 1999, Rochester, Minnesota
Interviewer: David Rhees

Interview Excerpt:
Audio MP3 File | Excerpt Transcript

Subjects Discussed: Family background, service in World War II, education, his father’s manufacturing background, Waters-Conley company: phonographs, development of home pasteurizer for farmers. Waters Instruments: oximeters, densitometers, cardiotachometer, and kymographic camera, and merging with Flowtronics. Sales at trade shows, engineering and entrepreneurs prompted by medical institutions and physicians. Consolidation in the medical device industry. Impact of Device Control Act and FDA regulation. Membrane oxygenator and pulsatile preservation for kidneys. Experiences working with the Mayo Clinic. Dye curve catheter versus thermal dilution curve catheter. Change in Mayo Clinic’s attitude toward commercialization. Thoughts on development of Medical Device Industry in Minnesota: role of Mayo Clinic, labor pool, support services, and capital. Experiences running a manufacturing concern.

Sound Recordings:
User copy: 2 60-minute cassettes

Original: 2 60-minute cassettes

Restrictions on Use: None

Transcript: 30 pages

Accession Number: AV 2001.104.16

 
Biographical Information

George Waters was born in South Dakota. He was educated in Minnesota. He graduated from college in Massachusetts. He has headed several companies that designed and manufactured medical devices from the late 1940s until the early 1970s. He remained a board chairman until the early 1990s.

George Waters