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Stethoscope
René Laënnec invented te first stethoscope. He used a rolled set of paper to create an aural tube and found that it amplified the heart beat.The first stethoscope consisted of a wooden tube and was monaural. Stethoscopes are used for auscultation, or listening to the internal sounds of a person's body. -
Hypodermic Needle
The hypodermic needle was invented by Charles Pravaz and Alexander Wood. Charles Pravaz adapted a hollow steel needle to administer a coagulant in a sheep by using a system of measuring screws. Alexander Wood combined a hollow steel needle with a syringe to inject morphine into a person. -
Medical
Sir Thomas Allbutt invented the first practical medical thermometer. It was 6 inches long and took 5 minutes to record a person's temperature. -
X-Rays
Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered x-rays in his lab. He was working with a cathode-ray tube when he say a fluorescent glow on his table. He figured out that the tube was emitting this ray and could pass through most substances. The first x-ray was of his wife's hand.
In 1912 x-rays were used in the medical field. -
Penicillin
Penicillin was the first treatment for infections. Alexander Fleming discovered that "mold juice" would kill harmful bacteria. He told his assistants, Stuart Craddock and Frederick Ridley, to isolate pure penicillin from the mold juice. This assignment was difficult and they only prepared solutions of crude material. However, after Alexander wrote about his findings, Howard Florey, Ernst Chain, and their colleagues created penicillin into a life-saving drug. -
Artificial Heart
Vladimir Demikhov made the first artificial heart. This heart was transplanted to a dog. The first artificial heart given to a human was in 1982 to a man named Barkney Clark who lived for 112 days post surgery. -
Computed Tomography imaging
CT was invented by Godfrey Hounsfield and Allan Cormack. They both received Nobel Peace Prizes for this invention. The first CT scanners were for head imaging at first. -
UNOS
Organ transplants were limited due to organ rejection. UNOS was created as an independent, non-profit organization. It established an organ sharing system that collected, stored, and published data pertaining to transplants. -
Laser Surgeries
Thomas J. Watson, Samuel Blum, and Rangaswamy Srinivasan explored new ways to use the excimer laser to make minute changes to irradiated materials. The first laser surgery was by Dr. Steven Trokel on the patient's eyes. -
Bionic Prosthetics
David Glow joined the Bioengineering Centre with research and development in bionic prosthetics. Glow invented the first electrically powered shoulder in 1993. The Touch Bionics later invented the I-limb hand.
