Interview, October 9, 2008

Creator:

Duke University. Medical Center. Archives.

Scope and content:

Newton speaks about his background; working in the physics instrument shop at Duke; starting Newton Instrument Company; being asked to set up a surgical instrument shop; reasons for starting a surgical instrument shop for the medical center; Dr. Deryl Hart; building framing systems for Dr. Hart's ultraviolet lights; Dr. Hart's interaction with the instrument shop; his interest and development of skills in the area of design; purchasing a trip to New York for the opening of the surgical instrument shop; materials; describing the bubble trap (surgical tool) he brought to the interview; the importance of proper materials for surgical instruments; where the materials came from for the surgical instrument shop; funding for the shop; the development of the Duke Inhaler with the chair of Anesthesiology, Dr. Ronald Stephen; the description of the Duke Inhaler that he brought to his interview; most of the shop's instruments being used for research purposes; other items created by the surgical instrument shop or Newton Instrument Company; frequent medical center clients; people who worked with the surgical instrument shop; working half time at Newton Instrument Company and half time at the surgical instrument shop at Duke; developing an endobronchial balloon with Dr. Jim Moody; the Newton Instrument Company as manufacturing the Duke inhaler, and this being the first major product of Newton Instrument Company; ultimately flooding the market with the inhaler; layoffs at Newton Instrument Company; Newton Instrument Company manufacturing framing for the telephone company at the peak of its expansion; the surgical instrument shop buying a huge press break from a Naval gun factory; expanding the building to accommodate the press break; William Barber; the Durham Industrial Education Center; and the interfaith chapel named after William Preston Few.

Contents

Using These Materials