Medical device inventor James Sorenson dies

James LeVoy Sorenson, the billionaire entrepreneur and founder of the Sorenson Companies, died of cancer on Sunday. He was 86.

Sorenson Companies developed such technologies as the Sorenson Squeeze, a digital video compression and encoding technology.

And more recently, the company launched a social-networking genealogy Web site in October that incorporates the use of DNA testing called GeneTree.

Sorenson, however, is best known for the medical devices he invented, such as the first disposable surgical masks, blood recycling systems, and computer systems that provide real-time heart monitoring.

Sorenson is survived by his wife, eight children, 47 grandchildren, and 28 great-grandchildren.