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The History of EKG Machines

The electrocardiogram (EKG) was developed in the early 1900s by way of inventions from Aloysio Luigi and Willem Einthoven from the two previous centuries. The EKG reads the electronic pulses of the heart to record the workings of each ventricle and chamber.

  1. Heart Function

    • The left side brings the blood in from the lungs and pumps outward. The right side intakes blood from the rest of the body and pumps it into the lungs.

    Modes

    • The common settings on an EKG are monitor mode for the low frequency waves and diagnostic mode for the high frequency.

    Leads

    • Connectivity must be at the wrist, ankle, thigh and chest areas for proper readings.

    Rhythm (Sine Wave) Analyses

    • There are six waves analyzed: the P Wave dictates the sinus rhythm and PR can indicate blockages, atrial injury and tachycardia. QRS gives aire to arrthymias, hypertension and infarctions while ST tells about infarctions, ishemia and false negatives. Finally, the T wave builds on ST with Wellens' Syndrome and the U wave is small, referencing the papillary muscles, digitalis and QT syndrome, to name a few.

    History

    • In 1794, the Galvanometer, a machine that sensed electricity, was invented. Later in 1849 the Rheotome would be added to switch measured current. Julius Bernstein made it so samplings could be taken with enhancements made to the current machinery. Lippman discovered the capillary electrometer in 1872. Waller found how to record the current in later years. Einthoven, in 1903 developed a better model. Finally in 1920, GE invented strap-on electrodes.

    Benefits

    • Heart attacks, arrhythmia, hypertension and other heart diseases can be found and tracked by the EKG.

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