Wilson Greatbatch, an electrical engineer in Buffalo, NY, had a brilliant idea and the technical know-how to turn his idea into a practical device, for which millions of people today are grateful. This is the story of the first pacemaker by the man who invented it.Intrigued by electronics from the time he was a boy, Greatbatch earned a degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University. It was during his time at Cornell that he first became interested in the medical applications of electronic devices. He learned about ...
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Wilson Greatbatch, an electrical engineer in Buffalo, NY, had a brilliant idea and the technical know-how to turn his idea into a practical device, for which millions of people today are grateful. This is the story of the first pacemaker by the man who invented it.Intrigued by electronics from the time he was a boy, Greatbatch earned a degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University. It was during his time at Cornell that he first became interested in the medical applications of electronic devices. He learned about the problem of heart blocking at Cornell and knew it was fixable in principle, but at the time the vacuum-tube technology was impractical for medical use.By the 1950s he was teaching at the University of Buffalo School of Electrical Engineering and the first silicon transistors had just been invented. While using one of the new $90 transistors on another project Greatbatch discovered by accident, as he describes it, the proper design for a blocking oscillator that he immediately knew would work as a pacemaker. He soon interested Dr. William Chardack, chief of surgery at the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Buffalo, in the project, and by 1958 they were conducting animal experiments.Greatbatch quit his job and for the next two years devoted full-time in his wood-heated barn workshop to building one pacemaker after another. During this time he built fifty pacemakers, forty of which went into animal experiments. By 1960 he and a team of surgeons and engineers had gained enough knowledge from the trial and error of the animal experiments to feel ready to begin implanting the remaining ten devices in people. The first trials went well and Greatbatch's device extended the lives of many of these seriously ill patients by decades. What followed were years of hard work refining the battery and electrode technology, marketing the pacemaker to an initially skeptical medical community, and keeping the company that manufactured the device profitable.Reminiscent of Edison's many dogged attempts to find the right solution in pursuit of an ingenious idea, The Making of the Pacemaker is a human-interest story at its best and also an important firsthand account for the medical archives of an invention that today saves millions of lives.
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Add this copy of The Making of the Pacemaker: Celebrating a Lifesaving to cart. $2.13, good condition, Sold by Goodwill rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brooklyn Park, MN, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Prometheus Books.
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Seller's Description:
Good. There is handwriting, stickers or numbers inside the front cover Appears to have been signed by original author; signature is not authenticated or guaranteed Item has stickers or notes attached to cover and/or pages that have not been removed to prevent further damage Cover/Case has some rubbing and edgewear. Access codes, CD's, slipcovers and other accessories may not be included.
Add this copy of The Making of the Pacemaker: Celebrating a Life-Saving to cart. $4.11, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Prometheus Books.
Add this copy of The Making of the Pacemaker: Celebrating a Lifesaving to cart. $20.00, like new condition, Sold by Abacus Bookshop rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Pittsford, NY, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Prometheus Books.
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Well-illustrated. Fine copy in fine dust jacket. 8vo, 260 pp., Inscribed & signed by the author on the front free endpaper., Foreword by Seymour Furman.
Add this copy of The Making of the Pacemaker: Celebrating a Life-Saving to cart. $24.95, like new condition, Sold by George Lyon rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Alexandria, VA, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Prometheus Books.
Add this copy of The Making of the Pacemaker: Celebrating a Lifesaving to cart. $37.10, good condition, Sold by Anybook rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lincoln, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2000 by Prometheus.
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This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside. This book has hardback covers. Clean from markings. In good all round condition. Dust jacket in fair condition. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item, 650grams, ISBN: 9781573928069.
