Wilson Greatbatch, Pacemaker
Wilson Greatbatch
Biography:
Wilson Greatbatch had a pretty normal life throughout his childhood. He went to public school in his home town of Buffalo and then entered WWII. After the war he got his B.S. in Electrical Engineering form Cornell and later revoked a masters from the University of Buffalo.
Contributions:
Greatbatch was studying animal behavior at Cornell during the '50s and was building a device to monitor the heart rate of sheep. While building this device he incorrectly installed a resistor in the circuitry of the heart rate monitor. Instead of measuring the heartbeat the device released electrical impulses that matched the pace beating of a heart. This mistake eventually would lead to the creation of the pacemaker.
Pacemakers during that time where quite large and could not be implantable. Even worse than not being implantable, they did not have their own power supply so patients would have to be literally plugged into a wall for the pace maker to work. With the discovery made by Greatbatch in 1950 led to the creation of the first implantable pacemaker in 1958 with portable power supply.
Today:
Technology has come a long way since the first pacemaker in 1958. The devices are much smaller than even the first prototype and the batteries are also to the size that they can be implanted. Greatbatch and many others through time have tried to develop batteries to be smaller and hold more charge which is still the biggest problem with todays pacemakers. From the first pacemaker Greatbatch eventually built one of the largest and most cutting edge medical device company, Medtronic which has bettered the lives of many over the years.
Biography:
Wilson Greatbatch had a pretty normal life throughout his childhood. He went to public school in his home town of Buffalo and then entered WWII. After the war he got his B.S. in Electrical Engineering form Cornell and later revoked a masters from the University of Buffalo.
Contributions:
Greatbatch was studying animal behavior at Cornell during the '50s and was building a device to monitor the heart rate of sheep. While building this device he incorrectly installed a resistor in the circuitry of the heart rate monitor. Instead of measuring the heartbeat the device released electrical impulses that matched the pace beating of a heart. This mistake eventually would lead to the creation of the pacemaker.
Pacemakers during that time where quite large and could not be implantable. Even worse than not being implantable, they did not have their own power supply so patients would have to be literally plugged into a wall for the pace maker to work. With the discovery made by Greatbatch in 1950 led to the creation of the first implantable pacemaker in 1958 with portable power supply.
Technology has come a long way since the first pacemaker in 1958. The devices are much smaller than even the first prototype and the batteries are also to the size that they can be implanted. Greatbatch and many others through time have tried to develop batteries to be smaller and hold more charge which is still the biggest problem with todays pacemakers. From the first pacemaker Greatbatch eventually built one of the largest and most cutting edge medical device company, Medtronic which has bettered the lives of many over the years.
Herman P. Schwan, Bioelectricity
Herman P. Schwan
Herman P. Schwan is known by many as one of the Founding Fathers of Biomedical Engineering. He was born August 7th 1915 in Aachen Germany. Growing up in a poor household he still managed to graduate from one of the most prestigious high schools in Germany with high standings in 1934. He studies in a lab in Frankfurt during WWII and worked on improving old equipment to accurately measure the dielectric properties of tissues. After the war he was given an opportunity to work at the University of Pennsylvania where he spent the rest of his career. Herman P. Schwan passed away in 2005 but not before help create the field of bioengineering.
Research:
Dielectric Properties of Tissues
Schwan was interested in the electrical properties of cells. He looked at how cells suspended in a solution would be able to conduct electricity. He determined that at low frequencies that cells and tissues alike would be able to conduct some electricity. This helped explain electrical impulse propagation through nerve cells in the body, which were not well understood at the time.
So What?
Why should we care about this Schwan had? Turns out that this knowledge of the electrical properties of tissues helped lead the way for the creation of two medical devices that are in every hospital. Some Ph.D. students of Schwan developed the ultrasound and electrocardiography machine. These are two of the most common medical devices used today and without the research of Herman P. Schwan the medical industry would not be as it is today.
Herman P. Schwan is known by many as one of the Founding Fathers of Biomedical Engineering. He was born August 7th 1915 in Aachen Germany. Growing up in a poor household he still managed to graduate from one of the most prestigious high schools in Germany with high standings in 1934. He studies in a lab in Frankfurt during WWII and worked on improving old equipment to accurately measure the dielectric properties of tissues. After the war he was given an opportunity to work at the University of Pennsylvania where he spent the rest of his career. Herman P. Schwan passed away in 2005 but not before help create the field of bioengineering.Research:
Dielectric Properties of Tissues
Schwan was interested in the electrical properties of cells. He looked at how cells suspended in a solution would be able to conduct electricity. He determined that at low frequencies that cells and tissues alike would be able to conduct some electricity. This helped explain electrical impulse propagation through nerve cells in the body, which were not well understood at the time.
So What?
Why should we care about this Schwan had? Turns out that this knowledge of the electrical properties of tissues helped lead the way for the creation of two medical devices that are in every hospital. Some Ph.D. students of Schwan developed the ultrasound and electrocardiography machine. These are two of the most common medical devices used today and without the research of Herman P. Schwan the medical industry would not be as it is today.
Welcome to Scientists of Bioengineering!
Welcome to Scientists of Bioengineering!
Bioengineering is a very young field of study yet has made a huge impact on the world as we know it. From the invention of the stethoscope in 1816 to the creation of the MRI machine in 1977 Bioengineers have been bettering the lives of many people in a very short time.
This blog will explore the research of scientists who have contributed to the field of bioengineering and how these contributions have changed lives or will change lives in the future.Whether you are interested in becoming a bioengineer or just curious about the field I hope that you are intreaged and maybe even inspired by the scientists of bioengineering.
Bioengineering is a very young field of study yet has made a huge impact on the world as we know it. From the invention of the stethoscope in 1816 to the creation of the MRI machine in 1977 Bioengineers have been bettering the lives of many people in a very short time.
This blog will explore the research of scientists who have contributed to the field of bioengineering and how these contributions have changed lives or will change lives in the future.Whether you are interested in becoming a bioengineer or just curious about the field I hope that you are intreaged and maybe even inspired by the scientists of bioengineering.
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