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Bakken, Earl E.

Arne Larsson
Society: IEEEMain Category: ElectricEra: 1950-1959DateCreated: 1957-1958C. H. Best InstituteTorontoState: CACountry: USAWebsite: http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Milestones:First_Wearable_Cardiac_Pacemaker,_1957-1958Creator: Bakken, Earl E.

During the winter of 1957-58, Earl E. Bakken developed the first wearable transistorized pacemaker, the request of heart surgeon, Dr. C. Walton Lillehei. As earlier pacemakers were AC-powered, this battery-powered device liberated patients from their power-cord tethers. The wearable pacemaker was a significant step in the evolution to fully-implantable units.

YearAdded:
1999
Image Credit: Courtesy Professor Marko Turina, University Hospital, Zurich (CC BY 3.0)Image Caption: Arne H. W. Larsson (26th May 1915 to 28th December 2001) was the first recipient of an implantable pacemaker. He received the first device in 1958 and had a total of 26 devices during his life. He became an advocate for patients needing pacemakers, campaigning for greater funding and research in this area.Era_date_from: 1957
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Innovations

Arne Larsson

During the winter of 1957-58, Earl E. Bakken developed the first wearable transistorized pacemaker, the request of heart surgeon, Dr. C. Walton Lillehei. As earlier pacemakers were AC-powered, this battery-powered device liberated patients from their power-cord tethers. The wearable pacemaker…

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