I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Gordon Potts, one of ASNR founding members, during our recent meeting in NYC during which we celebrated the society’s 50th anniversary. He recently sent me this letter which I would like share with our readership.
Dear Mauricio,
First, let me say how much I enjoyed the 50th anniversary event. What a wonderful welcome you all gave me! I am glad that Janet was sitting next to you at the banquet because it was hard for me to move around and meet all my old and new friends there.
You may be aware that I started my neuroradiology training in New Zealand. My mentor there was Dr. Stephen Moor, one of the first trainees of Dr. James Bull at Queen Square when Dr. Bull returned from prison in the Pacific after the war ended. Dr. Moor was my mentor when I started my radiology training in Auckland Hospital and he wrote a supporting letter to Dr. Bull. After I went to London to continue my training I was interviewed by Dr. Bull for a position at the Atkinson Morley. Later I was told that Dr. Bull “would have given his eye teeth” to get Steve Moor back to London! After 18 months at the AMH, Dr. Bull moved me to Queen Square for a year. Near the end of that time Dr. Bull visited Dr. Taveras in New York at a time when neurosurgical residents were doing most of the neuroradiology special procedures (angiograms and air studies at that time). I moved to the Neurological Institute with Juan Taveras and from there to New York Hospital with John Evans and, after 18 years there, went on to Toronto.
Thank you for your invitation to share some recollections of earlier days of neuroradiology. Mike Huckman is a friend of many years and he might know whether I would have anything else useful to contribute. Please give him best wishes of Janet and myself if you are in touch with him.
Sincerely,
Gordon
This is a message sent to me by Becky Flanagan who worked as a technologist with Dr. Gordon Potts:
I had the good fortune to work as a Neuroradiology technologist at the Neurological Institute in New York City from 1964-1968. It was like working at the United Nations, everyone spoke English with a different foreign accent and doctors from all over the world came to study with Dr. Taveras, Dr. Wood, and Dr. Potts. I loved working there. We were a team, everyone there had a job and everyone knew how to it well. In the mornings, Dr.Taveras walked the corridors, checking the rooms. He knew everyone’s name. Great diplomat! The Chief Technologist was Mr. Diaz…from Cuba…he ran the Department like a Drill Sergeant. We the other techs rotated through the angio rooms, air study/myelogram rooms, routine skull/spine rooms, and doing portables in addition to being “on call”. We had excellent “on the job” training and were not able to work alone until Mr. Diaz said it was “OK”. He was always outside the door watching and making sure we could do it right.
Dr. Gordon Potts invented several machines, needles, and ways of doing things in better, more efficient ways. He crafted a needle with the hole on the side for direct puncture of the vertebral artery. The Neuroradiology Fellows did the angiograms with us as assistants and technologists. e had the doctor’s surgical trays in order, the X-ray tube positioned, and film roll ready (we hoped…sometimes it jammed.). Plus, we had to answer questions from visiting doctors. Sometimes, we thought….we could use a pair of roller skates! Generally, it took two of us to work a room. Most of our angiograms were done under general anesthesia and we all wore scrubs, caps, and masks.
Dr. Potts also invented a summersault chair for the air studies of the ventricles, pretty darn amazing technique! We the techs were in great demand, many of us were asked to move to different places because they were buying equipment that only we could operate.
They were the best working years of my 25 year-long career as a X-ray Technologist!
Becky Flanagan