Who Invented the Pacemaker?

The artificial pacemaker is a type of device used in medicine to regulate the beating of a heart. The machine’s purpose and functioning is to maintain an individual’s heart rate. The history behind this important device starts in the 1920s with J.A. McWilliam's discovery of the ability to stimulate the heart. The history of the device continued with the invention of a portable device in 1926 after which many upgrades and revisions continued to enhance this life saving device leading it to be first used for a human in the 1950s.

The development of the pacemaker began in the late nineteenth century. J.A. McWilliam reported in the British Medical Journal that he had discovered in his experiments that an electrical impulse to the human heart resulted in a contraction and a heart beat rhythm of between sixty to seventy beats per minute.

Through his experiments, he realized that these beats could be achieved if the electrical impulses were applied at intervals of about sixty to seventy impulses per minute.

Then, in 1926, Dr. Mark Lidwell, along with Edgar Booth, invented a portable device that could plug into a lighting point and the other half of the device could be plug into the corresponding cardiac chamber. One pole of the device was applied to the skin, and the other pole contained the needle that was plugged into the cardiac chamber. The device was successful, and it was used to revive a stillborn infant in 1928.

Other Versions of the Pacemaker

Working independently of Dr. Mark Lidwell and Edgar Booth, Albert Hyman created his own version of the pacemaker in 1932. His device was powered by a spring-wound hand cranked motor.

Along with this invention, Hyman coined the term “artificial pacemaker” for these inventions that could restart one’s heart. In 1950, John Hopps then built the first external pacemaker. The pacemaker was built by John Hopps, but it was built based on observations from Wilfred Gordon Bigelow.

However, this pacemaker had complications, and patients complained that the pacemaker was painful. Additionally, the pacemaker was slightly dangerous, and there was the small possibility that the patient might be electrocuted when he or she used it.

Further Advancements

The next advancement for the artificial pacemaker occurred in 1967 by Dr. William Weirich at the University of Minnesota. Weirich published the research from a number of studies performed at the Minnesota which showed the restoration of heart rate, cardiac output and mean aortic pressures through a myocardial electrode in animals that had a complete heart block resulting in a myocardial infarction.

The publication of this research exposed some of the areas that still needed to be improved in the current model of the pacemaker. The next vital scientific breakthrough was when the silicon transistor was developed and made commercially available in 1956.

In 1957, Earl Bakken created the first wearable external pacemaker. The pacemaker had controls that could adjust the pace of the heart rate and alter the output voltage. The pacemaker was in a plastic box, and was connected to the patient through electrode leads. These electrode leads passed through the skin of the patient to electrodes that were attached to the surface of the myocardium of the heart.

Use in People

In 1958, the completely implantable pacemaker was inserted into an individual. The pacemaker was designed by Rune Elmqvist and the implantation took place at the Karolinska Institute in Solna, Sweden. Unfortunately, the device was not successful and failed after three hours.

After the first device failed, a second one was implanted in the patient. The second pacemaker had a longer lifespan, and successfully worked for two days. The patient, Arne Larsson, received over twenty different pacemakers in his lifespan.

In the late sixties, a number of different companies created isotope powered pacemakers, which represented a significant improvement in the pacemaker technology. In 1971, these were replaced with lithium anode cells. The creation of a titanium metal encasement for the pacemaker was the final major breakthrough in the field.

Thus, the answer to who invented the pacemaker is complicated. There are a number of difference engineers, scientists, and doctors that are all responsible for this amazing and life saving piece of technology!