Max D. Liston

Max Davis Liston (born March 16, 1918) is an American pioneer in the development of instruments for infrared spectrophotometry and non-dispersive infrared analysis. Two of his innovations, the breaker-type direct-coupled amplifier and the vacuum thermocouple, were essential to the development of infrared spectrometry technology.

Early life and education Max Davis Liston was born on March 16, 1918, in Oswego, Kansas, United States to Virdon (or Verdon) Milne Liston and Madge Ruth Davis. He had an older sister, Lorene. His father was a superintendent of schools. Liston attended high school in Fort Scott, Kansas. Because the science options there were limited, he took summer classes in physics at Northwestern University.

Through his war work, Liston met James Elam and George Saxton.

Liston-Becker In 1950, Morris Folb and Max Liston formed the Liston-Folb company, focusing on the development of nondispersive infrared analyzers. In 1951, they received backing from Albert Austin and Richard S. Becker, who created the Liston-Becker Instrument Company to handle instrument sales. Liston-Becker was one of a number of companies seeking to develop instruments to measure using infrared absorption.

Soon after leaving Perkin-Elmer, Liston was approached by Drs. James Elam and George Saxton, who he had met doing war work, to build a analyzer to test their theories about causes of cardiac arrest in anesthesia patients. In 1951, Liston provided Elam with a prototype nondispersive infrared analyzer, which Elam used in his human respiratory physiology research at Barnes Hospital and Washington University in St. Louis. After relocating to Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (then known as the Roswell Park Memorial Institute) in Buffalo, New York in 1953, Elam used a newer Liston-Becker model analyzer in his research. With Liston's apparatus, Elam was able to make important contributions to the study of respiratory physiology, and substantial improvements to anesthesia machines. The color indicators on the instruments were not working properly, allowing patients to inhale high levels of dangerous undetected, and a valve in the apparatus tended to stick and cause rebreathing. Once identified, both problems were fixed.

Beckman Instruments In 1955, Liston's backers, Albert Austin and Richard S. Becker, agreed to sell their company to Beckman Instruments. Max Liston joined Beckman Instruments, Inc. in 1955 and remained with the company until 1965, initially as manager of Liston-Becker. After the Connecticut-based Liston-Becker plant was closed in a reorganization in 1958, Liston became Beckman Instruments Director of Engineering in California. One of Liston's most significant projects at Beckman Instruments involved automobile-emissions analyzers for smog tests in L.A.

In 1952, Arie Jan Haagen-Smit presented results that suggested that car exhausts were a major contributor to the development of California smog. He also developed the first pulse oximeter, but Beckman Instruments was not interested in marketing it.

One project was to improve the design of medical respirators, which were of interest to Forrest Bird, Dr. Albert Starr and Miles "Lowell" Edwards of Edwards Lifesciences. Liston believed he could create a ventilator with an integrated circuit to detect when the patient was able to breathe on his own, automatically switching between a preset ventilation rate and a patient-dependent one as needed. He was able to develop such an instrument for Edwards. Later models incorporated specialty microprocessors instead of memory chips.

Liston was interested in developing a multi-channel unit which could handle multiple tests at once, and which would incorporate a sample-identification system to prevent identification errors. When Abbott was not interested in it, Liston went on to develop the Paramax clinical analyzer for Baxter International.

Liston developed instruments that used selective binding of fluorescent tags and subsequent photodetection for the examination of chemical compounds. One instrument was designed to test blood samples for steroids and other drugs. Liston also developed specialty test instruments for electrolyte testing, Hemoccult testing, glucose testing and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) analysis. He is an innovator in the area of chemical-luminescence instrumentation, particularly measurement of oxides of nitrogen.

In addition, Liston and Lowell Edwards formed the Liston-Edwards company to work on the measurement of hydrocarbons. They developed an emissions analyzer that detected photo-reactive gases, ignoring non-reactive gases.