Spine Industry Pioneer Dr. Charles Ray Dies at 83

Charles Ray, M.D., who played a larger-than-life role in shaping the surgical treatment of debilitating back pain, died peacefully in his sleep—no doubt dreaming of his next invention—on July 21, 2011 in Santa Barbara, California at the age of 83.  Dr. Ray, whose long list of inventions, patents, students and surgical techniques only begins to hint at his impact on spine surgery, was active to the very end.

“Dr. Ray was one of the most creative men I ever met. He was not only a fantastically innovative and creative personality but most gracious and open to any and all queries. He would always be available to help with any and all ideas and always contributed more than his fair share. It was an honor to know Charlie and be able to call him a friend.” — Stephen Hochschuler, M.D.

Inventor

Charlie, as he was known by virtually everyone he came into contact with, held 53 U.S. patents and over 100 foreign patents, wrote over 365 articles and books and his bibliography lists 340 entries. He was the inventor of the Ray Threaded Fusion Cage, as well as the prosthetic nucleus to restore degenerative discs. For this work he was declared the Gold Medal Winner of the Medical Design Excellence Award for the year 2000. He was also awarded one of the three R & D 100 (along with NASA and DuPont Inc.) Best of the Best Awards—his for the development of this product having the most humanistic application.

Charlie was born on August 1, 1927 in Americus, Georgia. a very small town about 130 miles southwest of Atlanta. In addition to Charlie Ray, Americus is the birthplace of Habitat for Humanity. Both Charlie and Habitat for Humanity would eventually become internationally known and renowned builders.

His parents, Oliver Tinsley Ray and Katherine Broadfield Ray, moved from Americus to Atlanta in 1937. There, Charlie attended the Technological High School and upon graduating in 1945 joined the U.S. Navy. With the Navy, Charlie began what would eventually become a lifetime of traveling the world. Over the course of the next 65 years he trained surgeons on every continent, in hundreds of countries and became fluent in eight languages.

Charlie earned an undergraduate degree from Emory University in Atlanta and then a Master’s degree from the University of Miami in 1952. He earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia in 1956 and completed his fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. From there, Dr. Ray joined the staff at Johns Hopkins University taking the position of Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Bioengineering.

Photo courtesy Anthony Yeung, M.D.

A Major Theoretical Influence

An expert in bioengineering, philosophy, medicine and biology, Dr. Ray was much more than just a surgeon engineer. He was a major theoretical influence on spine care because he championed arthrodesis and arthroplasty as treatment modalities for degenerative disc disease instead of fusion. Under his guiding hand, generations of surgeons around the world are more routinely successful and their patients are leading more pain free lives.

Eventually, Charlie would become the co-founder of the North American Spine Society as well as the founding President of the Spine Arthroplasty Society, co-founder of the both the American College of Spine Surgery and the American Board of Spine Surgery. Over his career Dr. Ray advised numerous firms including Hoffman-LaRoche in Basel, Switzerland, Medtronic, Inc. in Minneapolis, Minnesota and, of course, RayMedica Inc., in Minneapolis as well as InveRay, Ltd.

Charlie met his beloved wife, Christie Mae Ross, at the Medical College of Georgia in the early 1950s. She preceded him in death as did his daughter, Kathy Lynn Ray; and son, Thomas Ross Ray; as well as his sister, Katherine Olivia Ray Jones. Those left to cherish and honor his memory include daughter, Christie Marlene Ray and and son, Bruce Charles Ray, as well as Rod Pearson and two grandchildren, Ross Michael Pearson and Nancy Rose Pearson of Santa Barbara; brother and sister-in-law, Thomas Broadfield Ray and Jean Bodin Ray of Atlanta; and numerous additional family members.

Final Thoughts

“Dr. Charles Ray, beside his impressive CV and his documented achievements, was a very warm and attentive man. Always innovating and inventing, ready to listen to problems and looking for solutions, he took on challenges that are daunting but needed to be initiated to benefit patients. He built consensus and led by example. He was an inventor, artist, writer and lecturer in five languages. Most importantly he was my friend.” — Hansen A. Yuan, M.D.

“Charlie was a thought leader in the world of contemporary spine surgery. The Ray TFC cage changed how fusion surgery was performed. He was the first to address disc degeneration with a replacement for the degenerated nucleus. He was truly a pioneer as evidenced by so many arrows in his back. He invented to help patients.” — John V. Viscogliosi, Viscogliosi Brothers, LLC

“Charlie Ray remains in my memory as a great human and a true pioneer of devices for the spine.  My first contact with Charlie was in 2002 when I received a welcome letter from him on becoming a member of the Board of Directors of the Spine Arthroplasty Society. The Society had been formed a year earlier. Later I had the honor of cooperating with Charlie to revise the Society’s bylaws and create today’s ISASS, the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery.  I had many meetings and conversations with Charlie. He was an enjoyable gentleman and a good advisor. I will never forget him.  My deepest regrets to his family.” – Karin Buettner-Janz, M.D., Ph.D.

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