Fonds 2021 - Bert C. de Kat fonds

B.C. (Bert) de Kat was an employee for the University of Toronto (U of T) in bio-medical engineering during the 1960’s. In 1962, U of T implemented the Institute of Bio-Medical Engineering, where de Kat played a pivotal role in this field. He acquired a diploma in electronics technology at the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art in Calgary, Alberta from 1953 to 1955.

Later, de Kat worked at the University of Saskatchewan as support staff for the electrical engineering department. Here he met Norman F. Moody, the department head of electrical engineering, who became de Kat’s mentor. When U of T asked Moody to be the founding director of their new Institute of Bio-Medical Engineering, he invited de Kat to join him. De Kat agreed and worked at U of T in bio-medical research for 12 years. While working at the Institute, de Kat engaged in numerous research projects including the development of a blood flow meter and a gamma ray camera voltmeter.

By 1972, de Kat had established his own company named Bio-Tech Co. Its mandate was to produce engineering service designing instrumentation and provide a facility for constructing prototypes of the designs for his clients. His customers were in the industrial, medical, and environmental fields. In 1976, de Kat acquired a patent for his Replicator, which is a microbiology laboratory machine that replicates samples on petri dishes.

B.C. de Kat died in 2023.