Physician Inventors

Dr Richard Melker is professor emeritus of anaesthesiology, paediatrics, and biomedical engineering at the University of Florida and is the cofounder and chief technology officer of Xhale, Inc. He earned a master’s degree in neurobiology from New York University and a doctorate in neurobiology along with a medical doctorate from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr Melker holds 50 issued U.S. patents and non-US equivalents and has collaborated with Cook in the development of several difficult airway products: the Melker Emergency Cricothyrotomy Catheter – Seldinger (1988), the Melker Cuffed Emergency Cricothyrotomy Catheter – Seldinger (2002), and the Universal Cuffed Emergency Cricothyrotomy Catheter Set – Seldinger/Surgical (2004).

Dr George Arndt is an anaesthesiologist based in Madison, Wisconsin. He received his medical degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and has been in practice for more than 30 years. A prolific inventor with a number of registered patents, Dr Arndt has worked closely with Cook to bring several of his airway products to market, including the Arndt Airway Exchange Catheter (1998). He has also played a key role in the development of Cook’s Arndt Endobronchial Blocker (2006).

Professor Peter Charters received his medical degree from the University of Liverpool and completed undergraduate studies in mathematics from Oxford University. He has worked in anaesthesiology and intensive care since 1982 at a number of institutions, including Arrowe Park, Royal Liverpool, Walton, and Aintree hospitals. A member of the Difficult Airway Society, Professor Charters currently conducts anaesthesia courses at Aintree and Warrington hospitals in England and at the College of Anaesthetists of Ireland and is a frequent guest speaker at conferences and society meetings. He was awarded the Dudley Buxton Medal for ‘meritorious work in anaesthesia or in a science contributing to the progress of anaesthesia’ by the Royal College of Anaesthetists. Professor Charters teamed up with Cook to develop the Aintree Intubation Catheter (1997).