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The begining
In 1775, Nickolev Abildgaard was one of the first people to study the effect of electrical energy on a body. He placed electrodes on the side of a hen's head, and when shocked, the hen died. He then places the electrodes on the chest of the hen and shocked it back to life. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3232561/ -
Idea
When sharing lunch with two surgeons, he heard them describe problems with the heart. They described a heart block that happens when natural electrical impulses don't reach the lower chamber of the heart. Wilson Greatbatch knew he could fix it. He related the problem to a radio. This is how he discovered the idea of the pacemaker. https://invention.si.edu/invention-stories/innovative-lives-making-hearts-beat-wilson-greatbatch -
The first pacemaker
Paul Zoll made the first working pacemaker in 1952. It was the size of a radio. To work, it would be plugged into the home; when needed, it would send electrical shocks through the person. Yet, this was extremely impractical and the shocks would cause irritations and burns on the person being shocked. https://invention.si.edu/invention-stories/innovative-lives-making-hearts-beat-wilson-greatbatch -
A better pacemaker
In 1957, Earl Bakken made a handheld, battery-powered pacemaker. https://invention.si.edu/invention-stories/innovative-lives-making-hearts-beat-wilson-greatbatch -
Attempted human implant
In Sweden, Ake Senning attempted to put a pacemaker into humans. One worked for three hours before failing another one worked for eight days. https://invention.si.edu/invention-stories/innovative-lives-making-hearts-beat-wilson-greatbatch -
First implantable pacemaker
Wilson Greatbatch brought his pacemaker to William Chardack's hospital. There, they implanted it into a dog's heart. It took over the heartbeat. https://invention.si.edu/invention-stories/innovative-lives-making-hearts-beat-wilson-greatbatch -
It worked!!
In 1960, 10 patients had complete heart blocks. All were implanted with a pacemaker. One person lived 18 months, another patient lived 30 years. https://invention.si.edu/invention-stories/innovative-lives-making-hearts-beat-wilson-greatbatch -
Lithium?!
In 1969, pacemakers started to get made with lithium batteries. This would help them last longer (around 10 years) before needing to be replaced. https://www.inova.org/our-services/inova-schar-heart-and-vascular/conditions-treatments/pacemaker/history-and-development -
The size of a grain of rice
In 2021, researchers developed a light activated pacemaker. This pacemaker is the size of a grain of rice. It would be able to be inserted with a syringe. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/researchers-develop-worlds-smallest-pacemaker-and-it-could-be-revolutionary-for-newborn-babies-with-heart-defects-180986361/ -
The future
I think that in the future, the tiny pacemakers will start being used instead of the large ones we use now. I also think that pacemakers will be more long lasting, only needed to be switched out one or two times.