By Nancy Wilms, Mercy Library & Archives Volunteer
When the item above was
donated to the Mercy Archives recently, we became curious and wanted to learn
more about why the gentleman had his hand and foot in a bucket, attached
to electrodes. So Volunteer Nancy Wilms set
out to learn more … Here’s what she discovered:
In 1901, Willem Einthoven,
who is responsible for the “Einthoven triangle” for attaching electrocardiogram
leads, invented a new string galvanometer for producing electrocardiograms
using a fine quartz string coated in silver.
The unit weighed 600 pounds and required five technicians to operate. In 1903 he discussed commercial production of
the string galvanometer with Cambridge Scientific Instruments Company of
London. This is the unit manufactured in 1911 by The
Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company of London. Willem Einthoven won the Nobel Prize in 1924
for inventing the electrocardiogram.
Photograph of a complete Electrocardiograph showing the
manner in which the electrodes are attached to the patient. In this case the hands and the one foot are
immersed in jars of salt solution.
For more information, see:
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