On 8. In October of 1958 began the doctor Ake Senning and the Siemens-Elema engineer Rune Elmquist of the first implanted pacemaker in the world, the heart sick, Arne Larsson. Today, it is a routine operation.
Forty years after the Operation: Arne Larsson 1998 shows the pacemaker that saved his life.
The life of only 43 years old, Sweden Arne Larsson seemed to go in the late summer of 1958. After a virus infection he suffered from severe heart rhythm disorders. His heart was beating only about 28 Times per Minute in healthy people, a heart rate of 70 Times per Minute is normal. Again and again, Larsson was passed out. Doctors had to bring him in the course of a day 20 to 30 Times.
The doctors had little hope for their patients, but his wife Else-Marie did not want to give up the fight to have the life of her husband.
A pacemaker in its infancy
She had read of Ake Senning – the then senior physician and head of experimental surgery at the Karolinska University hospital in Stockholm. The conducted research with engineer Rune Elmquist from the medicine manufacturer Siemens-Elema device to the first implantable heart pacemaker. Siemens brings to the page of company history the early years of pacemaker development.
First external, wearable pacemaker already existed, developed by the American electrical engineer Earl Bakken and his company, Medtronic, a year earlier. But even these were in 1958, still in its infancy – the market is ripe of the heart were not pacemaker at the time.
More to the heart: women’s hearts beat differently – German heart report 2016
Doctor Ake Senning, engineer, Rune Enquist and Patient Arne Larsson celebrate in 1978 in Zürich the 20. Anniversary of Operation
The first model made of resin
Else-Marie Larsson was convinced that the heart had tested the pacemaker, the Senning and Elmquist until then, the only animal, your man would save the life. You urged the doctor to the daring Operation.
But there was still no cardiac pacemaker model, fit for people. So the engineer was Elmquist one: The electrical components he poured in epoxy resin. From there, two electrodes to the heart muscle of the patient.
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The heart – a-beating miracleMiracle of nature
The heart is a miracle of nature: The fist-shaped hollow muscle contracts about seventy times a Minute and pumps so on the day of up to 10,000 liters through the body. And for a lifetime. If necessary – while Jogging, for example – transported to the heart of even five times as much blood through the body.
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The heart – a-beating miracleDouble The Work
Actually, our heart consists of two pumps. Because there is not only a circulatory system, but two. The right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs, where it will refuel itself with oxygen. At the same time, the left ventricle transports the same amount of blood throughout the body. Not so easy. Because in the systemic circulation is much higher pressure than the pulmonary circulation.
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The heart – a-beating miracleBoom, Boom
Each half of the Heart consists of an atrium and a Ventricle. The blood can only flow in one direction, as between the Atria and the chambers and between the chambers and the subsequent vessels of the heart valves (green), which work like check valves.
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The heart – a-beating miracleReal Muscle Work
The heart is just a muscle but a very special one. It is similar to those in the Arm and the leg, because he can pull just as fast and powerful. But he is especially persevering, and not tired. In addition, all of the heart muscle are coupled to cells to each other, so that always the whole heart muscle contracted at the same time.
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The heart – a-beating miracleNatural Pacemaker
Try to stop your heart by willpower the Beat! This doesn’t work, because the heart is not controlled by nerves, but its own clock has a Special muscle cells in the sinus node periodically produce a small Stromstroß that spreads quickly through the whole of the heart and contract. The sinus node is defective, the AV-node.
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The heart – a-beating miracleFrom the clock
The heart of the rhythm, for example, in ventricular fibrillation, it is not more relaxed, but remains constantly tense. Then the Organ can pump no more blood. A shock to the transmitter, the Defibrillator stops the life-threatening permanent excitation in the heart, so the natural cycle can take on donors. Even a layman can operate the device.
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The heart – a-beating miracleLife saver
A patient’s heart beats too slow, an artificial pacemaker. The device generates electrical impulses and transmits them to the heart muscle. For the first time implanted Doctors a pacemaker in 1958. A modern pacemaker has a function of duration of between five and twelve years of age, with an average of eight years
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The heart – a-beating miracleOpen heart
To be able to heart surgery, must put a stop to the Doctors for a short time and the cycle shut down – actually, a death sentence. But in 50 years, scientists solved the Dilemma: you developed the heart-lung machine. The device takes over for a short time, the function of the heart and lungs, enriches the blood with oxygen and pumps it through the body.
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The heart – a-beating miracleThrough the groin into the heart
The modern medicine allows doctors to examine the heart or to operate it without the patient’s chest cut open. To do this, the doctor performs a cardiac catheterization – a thin plastic tube through the bar, bend of the elbow or wrist, and pushes the tube through veins or arteries to the heart. The Patient is before a local anaesthetic.
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The heart – a-beating miracleFoldable Heart Valve
Is one of the heart valves is broken or worn out, a new one. Doctors refer to biological replacement of the pig or mechanical heart valves made of metal. Meanwhile, there are also artificial heart valves, which are collapsible (see photo) and therefore is minimally invasive using a catheter. Open heart surgery is no longer necessary.
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The heart – a-beating miracleClogged Vessels
The coronary arteries supply the heart muscle with blood, i.e. nutrients and oxygen. One of these vessels becomes clogged, no longer dies perfused tissue – a heart attack! With a Bypass, the cardiac surgeon bridged the narrowed site (green in the picture). For this, he takes a vein of the patient, which is no longer used, or a vascular prosthesis made of plastic.
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The heart – a-beating miracleLife saver metal
A coronary vessel is narrowed, you can introduce the doctor to a catheter in the blood vessel, and the constriction with a balloon dilating. Thus, the vessel pulls behind back, holding it with a Stent to open: these are fine tubes, made of metal, which support the blood vessel wall from the inside. The tubes can also be coated with drugs.
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The heart – a-beating miracleWhen your heart no longer wants to
The first heart transplant conducted by heart surgeons in the year 1967. At that time a Sensation. Meanwhile, the OP is no longer a rarity: a year transplant Doctors in the world, a few Thousand donor hearts from deceased people. The recipient must take life-long medication to prevent the body rejecting the foreign Organ.
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The heart – a-beating miracleLiving on credit
Donor hearts are scarce. If your heart is not functioning properly, such as in the case of a failure, it can be with an artificial heart support. The diseased heart remains in the body, it is supported by an implanted pump. Drive and power supply to the pump outside of the body.
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The heart – a-beating miracleAn artificial heart
Dream of the researchers is an artificial heart, the diseased heart of the patient is replaced in its entirety. It can be used without connecting hoses to the outside world into the body and maintenance-free for many years to beat. Prototypes already exist.
Larsson lived for a further 43 years
This first pacemaker had to be after a few hours against a new replaced. But the Experiment was successful: a Total of Larsson’s pacemaker had to be 26 times replaced. But he could soon lead a normal life and even sports. He arrived at the age of 86 years, and survived even the doctor who had saved his life.
The devices have been getting better and batteries are getting more powerful. Today, about 750,000 people worldwide each year with a pacemaker. “I thought in the beginning that the pacemaker was a technical Curiosity,” said the inventor, Rune Elmquist in 1983 in retrospect. “It is fantastic to see how quickly he has evolved.”
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3D printing helps man and beastWith the second leg, it is better
In the world bird Park in the Dutch town of Walsrode, Secretary, socks has a new lower leg. The bird lady had broken a leg. Because the nerves were severed, amputated the leg, reported to the bird Park. Thanks to 3D printers, ankle socks can now run again. Socks is almost three years old and about 120 centimeters tall.
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3D printing helps man and beastThe Operation was a success
The world for the Toucan Grecia is almost back in order. After almost a year of intense efforts have missed the veterinary doctors of the animal Park, the Zoo Ave in San Jose in Costa Rica the bird a new Beak. The special thing about it: The Beak comes out of the 3D printer and the pass was made exactly for Grecia.
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3D printing helps man and beastBeak prosthesis
The Toucan had been negotiated by the end of 2014 of the young is hard to miss. To design the new Beak, was first scanned in the skull of the animal in a computer tomograph. After that, the Doctors developed a Computer a precise model that was later attached.
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3D printing helps man and beastA wheelchair for Luisa
Medical spare parts from the 3-D printers are no exception. Also animals can benefit from it. This former street dog from Italy have lost in an accident your front legs. So you don’t fall always on the snout, has built their new family in Ravensburg her a Special wheelchair with a 3D prosthesis.
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3D printing helps man and beastBreast Cup from the printer
Luisa lives with Manuel Tosché and his partner Petra Rapp. The two operate a development company for 3D printers. The soft plush coated breast Cup is a development of the son and his girlfriend. Luisa should still grow, can be printed with a larger breast Cup.
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3D printing helps man and beastNew Hand thanks to 3D printer
Also helps people of the printing technology: six-year-old Maxence from France to get a prosthetic hand from a 3D printer. He came without a right-Hand to the world. The orange-yellow-blue prosthesis cost under 50 Euro in the making.
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3D printing helps man and beastA replacement for the skull plate
Here, both the plastic skull, titanium skull plate by 3D-printing. Template was a CT scan – a three-dimensional x – ray recording of the patient. The skull plate is fine as a tenth of a millimetre can be adjusted.
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3D printing helps man and beastBone that grows back
This implant was manufactured in a similar process of hydroxyapatite powder. The replacement of bone developed at the research center Caesar fuses with the time with the real bone. After the real bone material is formed, while the implant is slowly disappearing.
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3D printing helps man and beastIndividualized medicine for everyone
Long of 3D printing in the dental tray. The days when dentists had to be time-consuming and complicated to take fingerprints directly from the Teeth of the patient are long gone. Today, the Dentition is measured in the CT three-dimensional electronic data, go to the laboratory and the appropriate tooth replacement comes a few days later from a specialist manufacturer.
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3D printing helps man and beastBone cancer by model
Here is a model of a cancer-ridden bone at the University of Duisburg has been printed and cut. Such models can be used in medical training, on the other hand, you can also help Doctors, surgeries prepare.
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3D printing helps man and beastMore difficult in the case of soft organs
So far doctors it is difficult, however, to use 3D printing to movable parts of the body, as in the case of this heart. While it is possible, a computer tomography to make of the inclusion of the heart with all its ramifications, and then the result of print, but it’s not more than as a presentation in the classroom .
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3D printing helps man and beastPrinted Cell Material
At the Inserm Institute in Bordeaux research since 2005, with printed cell structures. It is called “Bioprinting”. To 10,000 droplets per second, can provide such a cell-to-printer. So far, the printer is able to reproduce human cells, such as a sample material in order to avoid animal testing.
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3D printing helps man and beastCells for certain patients
Next target Inserm has set the development of individualized cell structures. This could be for an individual patient, the cells are delivered, it needs and the body also not repels. Later, the inventor of the implantable cell structures – such as organs or at least parts of hope of it – to be able to restore.