A pacemaker is an electrical device that is connected to the heart and sends tiny, imperceptible electric charges to controls the heartbeat. Modern pacemakers are small and placed inside the chest or abdomen, but the pacemaker has undergone several incarnations in its lifetime.
Electrostimulation
The history of stimulating the cardiac--from the Greek kardia, meaning "heart"--nerves and muscles with electricity can be traced back to the 18th century. Devices such as a Leyden Jar--a device that stores static electricity--and a Voltaic Pile--the world's first battery--were used in experiments on dead animals.
External Pacemaker
The first external pacemaker was designed and built by John Hopps, a Canadian electric engineer, in 1950. It was a large, bulky and crude affair that caused trauma and pain to patients.
Implantable Pacemaker
The first viable implantable pacemaker was developed by Dr. William Chardack and electrical engineer William Greatbatch in 1959. The Chardback-Greatbatch pacemaker, as it became known, was patented in 1961 and Greatbatch Enterprises, today, produces most of the lithium batteries used in modern pacemakers.
Tags: device that, Pacemaker first
