Donald Philip Bernstein

1943 - 2022

Donald Philip Bernstein
April 8, 1943 - January 4, 2022
Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Dr. Donald Philip Bernstein, anesthesiologist and bio-physicist/inventor, died January 4, 2022 at his home in Rancho Santa Fe, California. Dr. Bernstein was born in South Orange, New Jersey. Growing up, he loved science, baseball, wrestling, and swimming.
Dr. Bernstein studied physics at Franklin and Marshall College from 1961-1964. He left early when he was accepted into the George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences, where he earned a doctorate in medicine from 1964-1969. After earning his degree, he joined the U.S. Navy and served as an active duty lieutenant and French interpreter, completing a WESTPAC tour from 1969-1970 and a year at Oakland Naval Hospital.
Focusing in on anesthesiology, he returned to school to do his residency at Stanford University School of Medicine where he was a Chief Resident with a specialty in critical care. Dr. Bernstein worked at Palomar Medical Center as an attending anesthesiologist from 1974-2011, where he was instrumental in advancing the heart surgery department, playing a key role in obtaining trauma center designation, and one of the founders of the Escondido surgery center. He is remembered by his colleagues as a great mentor and teacher. In his 37 years at Palomar, he published numerous scientific articles, served on the editorial board for Obesity Surgery and Critical Care Medicine, and was a section editor for the journal Electrical Bioimpedance.
In addition to working as an anesthesiologist, he was director of medical science and services at BoMed, where he helped develop the Bernstein-Shramek Equation. He also worked as a consultant at Cardio-Dynamics.
Described by others as a "mathematician trapped in an anesthesiologist's body," Dr. Bernstein became the Chief Scientific Officer in 2011 for Sotera Wireless, a company developing rapid response monitoring devices. He developed the equation model for transbrachial electrical bioimpedance velocimetry (TBEV), which is a validated method of determining left ventricular stroke volume. He assisted in development of continuous noninvasive blood pressure cNIBP using the technique of vascular transit time (VTT). His work also included assisting in the development of a portable device that could be used by medics on the battlefield to detect internal bleeding. Sotera Wireless President Matt Banet described Dr. Bernstein's enthusiasm at 68, "He has a very active brainHe's like a first-year graduate student in how he approaches his work. You don't see that very often."
His many accomplish- ments include five U.S. patents, his most recent of which is a new equation, Transradial Electrical Velocimetry (TREV). He began his own company Aerobex in 2016 to develop the new non-invasive cardiac device for TREV and has been collaborating on it with BIOPAC Systems, Inc. since 2019.
"Don was very worldly and understood the relationships between concepts and physical manifestations, across a wide range of disciplines. Don's understanding of math and physics, tempered by his deep knowledge of medical phenomena, juxtaposed to create his formidable intellect and perceptual abilities," explains Alan Macy, R&D Director of BIOPAC Systems Inc.
In addition to his professional work, Dr. Bernstein was an adoring husband to Linda for 24 years, a devoted son to Mildred and Jack, caring brother to Janice Cummins, loving father to David Lederer, and an inspiration to Alyssa Delagnes. He is also survived by his son Adrian. His friends and family will remember him as Dapper Don for his impeccable sense of fashion and style, as well as for his quick sense of humor, love of cars and martinis, his passion for swimming, and his generosity. Don mastered everything that he investigated. He became an expert in art, watches, and gemology. No detail was too small for him to learn.
No matter the obstacle, Don never gave up on his personal or professional life. His motto was, "Never look back, always look forward." He believed life is not a sprint, it is a marathon. He worked tirelessly to better the medical profession and wanted to leave his name to science. For that, we owe him a huge debt of gratitude.
In Don's own words, "In the richness and fullness of time, everything will be okay, even if it isn't."

Please sign the guest book online at legacy.com/obituaries/ ranchosantafereview