Digital oscilloscope inventor Moriyasu dies

PORTLAND – Hiro Moriyasu, the inventor of the digital oscilloscope as well as of an early model of the personal computer, has died at his Portland home. He was 70. Moriyasu, who was born in Kure City, Japan, came to the United States in 1953 as an electrical engineering student at Oregon State University.

His 1971 invention, which he developed while working as an engineer for Beaverton-based Tektronix, improved upon the old analog oscilloscope by allowing the image to be saved in digitized form.

Two years later, he created one of the first PCs, prompting IBM to yank one of its early models for the personal computer off the market, according to Luis Navarro, an engineer for Precision Interconnect, a division of Tyco International LTD. He worked with Moriyasu at Tektronix.

“He was one of the most creative people I know of,” said Navarro.

Moriyasu, who died last week at his Portland home, founded two startups, Zeelan Technology and Acumar Technology. Zeelan made prototypes of high-speed electronic parts, allowing scientists to test designs before building them. Acumar makes digital inclinometers, used by doctors to measure a patient’s range of motion after an accident. Moriyasu’s design was cheaper and easier to use, said Robert Chew, product manager of Acumar.