Inventors of Medical Devices Trivia Quiz

Answer: Willem Einthoven

Einthoven was a Dutch physiologist and in 1903 he developed a string galvanometer to graphically record the changes in electrical potential during contractions of the heart. He coined the term electrokardiogram (EKG), now changed to electrocardiogram (ECG).

He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1924. (Emeagwali invented a very fast computer software {program;} Engelhart invented the computer {mouse;} and Ericcson invented propelling steam vessels).

Answer: Charles Drew

A blood bank isn't actually a {device;} but, it has become a modern marvel of technology and a laboratory designed with the finest scientific equipment. On-going improvements have made blood and blood by-products more available and transfusions much safer. Advanced technologies in the emergency room and in the operating rooms require larger, low-risk supplies of blood. Dr. Drew was born in Washington, D.C. in 1904.

In addition to developing the first blood bank and a method for storing plasma, he established the American Red Cross blood bank. (Deforest invented space {telegraphy;} Dennard developed random access memory {(RAM);} and Dart created the first grain elevator).

Answer: Hans Berger

Hans Berger was a German psychiatrist, who showed that it was possible to graphically record the extremely weak electrical brain waves. He named this recording the electroencephalogram (EEG) and demonstrated that these electrical waves changed with different functions of the brain, such as sleep,anesthesia and epilepsy.Absence of an electrical potential difference on the EEC is now a measure of 'brain death'. (Berliner invented the disk {gramophone;} Binning co-invented the scanning {microscope;} and Brandenberger invented cellophane).

Answer: Rene Laennec

In 1816 Dr. Rene Theophile Laennec felt embarrassed if he had to listen to the heart beat of a young female patient by placing his ear directly on her chest. He rolled up 24 sheets of paper to make a tube and placed one end on her chest and the other end in his ear.

He discovered that the sounds from the heart beats were loud and clear. This was the first monaural stethoscope. Subsequently, a small bell shaped instrument with two flexible tubes that fit into each ear was developed. By 1855 a stethoscope similar to the one used during most of the 20th century became available. (Latimer invented the toilet for railroad {cars;} Ledley invented the diagnostic x-ray {scanner;} and Langmuir invented the incandescent electric lamp).

Answer: Earl Bakken

In 1949 Earl Bakken and Palmer Hermundslie established a partnership for the repair of delicate laboratory and medical equipment. They named their company 'Medtronics'. In the mid-1950's Medtronics began working with the cardiac surgeons at the University of Minnesota Hospital. Within 3 to 4 years they had developed the first external, wearable, battery-powered transistorized pacemaker for human use, after cardiac surgery.

By the late 1950's Dr. William Chardack and Wilson Greatbatch in Buffalo, New York had tested, on experimental dogs, an implantable, transistorized, mercury-zinc battery-operated pacemaker for potential long term treatment of heart block. Palmer Hermundslie flew to NY. in October, 1960 and signed a contract that gave Medtronics exclusive rights to produce and market the implantable cardiac pacemaker for human use. (In 1950 Hopps had built a pacemaker but it was too large to have practical application and there was no further development of his device.Thus, all of those listed plus others, that had studied the electrical stimulation of the heart muscle, were involved in various ways in the development of a cardiac pacemaker. Medtronics, under Bakken and Hermundslie, got out of the starting gate first and fastest. Pacemakers now have built-in automatic cardiac defibrillators).

Answer: Samuel von Basch

In 1733 Stephan Hale was interested in a direct measurement of blood pressure and he placed a tube in an artery of the neck of a horse. He recorded that the fluid rose nine feet during a heart contraction. He didn't follow up on this observation and made no attempt to directly measure human blood pressure.

In about 1880 Samuel von Basch, of Vienna, invented the first device for the indirect measurement of blood pressure. His device was a tonometer and preceded the invention of the sphygmomanometer (*).

The blood pressure cuff was introduced in 1896 by Riva-Rocci. The cuff was 5 cms. wide and was inflated to compress the brachial artery against the bone. The palpation of the pulse was used to determine the blood pressure. In 1905 Korotkoff described the different auscultatory sounds while the cuff was being deflated.

This became the basis for using the stethoscope, a cuff and a mercury sphygmomanometer to determine the systolic and diastolic blood pressures. (*) a real tongue twister but good for a spelling bee.)

Answer: Marion Donovan

Disposable diapers may not be considered medical devices by the strictest definition. However, for mothers of the baby boom era they were very happy for Donovan's invention. Pediatricians approved of the improved cleanliness. Donovan first invented the 'Boater', which was a cloth diaper covered with shower curtain material.

She then replaced the cloth diaper with absorbent materials and added a plastic cover. She was unable to sell her idea to any manufacturing company, so she opened her own business.

After only a few years she sold her business for one million dollars. (Boone invented and patented the ironing board in {1887;} Anderson patented a windshield wiper in {1905;} and Brown developed the first antifungal antibiotic, called 'nystatin').

Answer: George de Mestral

Velcro can be considered a device that is a different type of zipper. It is used to fasten two pieces of cloth together and has both medical and non-medical applications. In 1948 George de Mestral, a Swiss mountaineer, and his dog went for a hike in the woods.

When they returned both were covered with burrs. Using a microscope he examined the burrs stuck to his pants and discovered that the burrs had small hooks that clung to small loops of fabric in his clothing. This lead him to the idea of making one material with small hooks and the other material with tiny loops.

He called his invention Velcro, a combination of the words velour and crochet. There were later improvements and the final design was patented in 1955. He formed his own company, which is now a multi-million dollar industry.(Matzeliger invented a method for automatically lasting {shoes;} Drew, as a 3M employee,invented both masking tape (1925) and Scotch Brand {tape(1930);} and Dickson invented Band-Aids for Johnson and Johnson, Inc.).

Answer: Dwight Harken

Dr. Dwight Harkin was a U.S. Army Surgeon and saw many soldiers who had shrapnel or bullets imbedded in their hearts. The human heart was one organ that had never been violated by the surgeon's scalpel and no attempt was made to remove the fragments from the soldier's hearts.

However, the problem got him interested in the possibility of doing surgery on the heart while it was still beating. His experiments on dogs proved that closed heart surgery could be performed successfully. In 1960 at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston he made an artificial valve and successfully implanted it to replace the damaged aortic valve of a human heart. New devices and procedures are always preceded by others. (At an earlier date Harken and Bailey independently had performed a closed heart procedure to dilate a constricted mitral valve with their finger, with initial poor {results;} Lillehei is considered the Father of open heart surgery, which he performed after the patient's body temperature had been reduced to 80 degrees {F.;} Barnard performed the first heart transplant).

Answer: Willem J. Kolff

Kolff was born in the Netherlands and received both an M.D. and Ph.D. degree in Holland. He came to the United States and was affiliated with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation for 17 years. Since 1967 he has been professor of surgery and director of the artificial organ program at the University of Utah, where he invented the artificial kidney dialysis machine.(Colton invented the first oral contraceptive drug, {Enovid;} Sherman invented Scotchgard for {3M;} and Spencer invented the microwave oven).