Historical
Compelled by the need for an improved technique in detecting metallic foreign bodies, Dr. John J. Moorhead of New York City enlisted the aid of an electrical engineer, Mr. Samuel Berman. From this association, the Berman Locator was evolved.1,2 This ingenious apparatus works on the principle of electromagnetic induction similar to that of mine detectors used so extensively during wartime. After more than a year of experimentation, the device was first successfully used in November, 1941, to locate and aid in the removal of metallic fragments from the ankle of a policeman who was one of the victims of the New York World's Fair bomb explosion of July 4, 1940. X-ray aid was purposely omitted in order to test further the applicability of the instrument. In December, 1941, Dr. Moorhead took it to Honolulu, Hawaii, for demonstration during a series of lectures on traumatic surgery. The first extensive