Medical Museum
The Beat Goes On: A History of Cardiology
EKG Machine
14. H. M. Korns, M. D. with first EKG machine at UIHC, c. 1920. |
The first EKG machine used at UIHC was a bulky, table-sized
apparatus built about 1920. Today's units are compact, lightweight and placed
on carts which can be wheeled to any location in the hospital. The evolution
of the EKG machine is particularly evident in the development of the electrode,
the component which conducts the body's electrical activity to the machine.
In the early 1900s, hands and feet were placed in sodium chloride baths
as a means of conduction, but by the 1940s metal disks with wire leads were
strapped to wrists and ankles. Now, the wire leads are attached to disposable
"patches" which are laminated and self-adhesive. |
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15. Demonstration by a patient of an
early EKG machine, c. 1900. |
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16. String galvanometer from the 1938
electrocardiograph at University Hospitals. On loan from the Department
of Internal Medicine, UIHC. |
17. Electrocardiogram |
18. The wrist electrode which was used with a 1940's "Cardiotron," a portable electrocardiograph. Donated by Mr. George Craghead and Mrs. Karen Barnard. |
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