Wilson Greatbatch & the Implantable Cardiac Pacemaker

Wilson Greatbatch & the Implantable Cardiac Pacemaker

By: Joshua Robbins

"It took me 2000 attempts before I got the light bulb right!" Thomas Edison

Ever wonder how a man like Thomas Edison could have ever figured out the science within a simple light bulb? The patience he must have had, failing time and time again, to produce a bulb that actually worked. You see, most great inventors never believed in failure. If they did, their work would be too discouraging. Take a moment to ponder the many discoveries and inventions that were created from a simple mistake. There was Alfred Nobel who stumbled upon dynamite after a key ingredient was accidentally spilled in the mixture. The all-famous lifesaver candy was produced because of a simple machine malfunction. Our favorite toy, the slinky, was created after Richard James was exposed to a malfunctioning spring. The idea for a slinky soon sprung into his head and we are forever grateful. Each failure or mistake just made them realize that there was one less possibility to explore. If they were lucky or sharp enough to realize at the time, some of their mistakes created things they had never even dreamed of. In essence, that is what science is about too. Learning by doing, exploring or attempting the impossible. Ideas are first hypothesized and then a logical deductive process seeks to find the truth or answers. In the very process, mistakes can occur. Some are detrimental and others beneficial, shedding new light and sending scientists scattering down a different road of discovery. Wilson Greatbatch found himself down such a road when he was inspired to create an engineering marvel, the implantable cardiac pacemaker.

Greatbatch was a product of the US Navy during World War II. After completing a degree a Cornell and earning his masters’ at the University of Buffalo, Greatbatch began his work in medical research. In the late 1950’s, with the introduction of the transistor, the "lucky" mistake occurred that led to the creation of the pacemaker. Greatbatch was building an oscillator to record heart sounds when he accidentally installed the wrong resistor into the unit. Due to this mistake, a steady electrical pulse was given off. After two years of working away at his creation, Greatbatch produced the first implantable cardiac pacemaker. The creation had widespread effects across the medical field.

Some three million lives have been saved since the pacemaker was created. That is a profound result of a simple mistake that could have been easily overlooked by an unimaginative scientist/inventor. Greatbatch didn’t stop there though; he also created a corrosion-free lithium battery to power his pacemaker. The battery is able to withstand the salty environment within the human body. Greatbatch won an award and the pacemaker was labeled as one of the ten greatest engineering contributions to society by the National Society of Professional Engineers in 1985. On receiving his award, Greatbatch said, "Just immerse yourself in the problem and work hard, the true reward is not in the results, but in the doing."

Questions

1. Explain why the pacemaker has been able to save over three million lives. Use descriptions and terms that you have learned from your class work to answer the question.

2. Greatbatch was once quoted as stating, "I don’t get interested until people tell me things are impossible." Describe three characteristics that you feel are essential in a research scientist/inventor and explain why.

3. Search for another invention that was created by mistake that has had an important effect on mankind. You may use the library resources, Internet or textbook to find an invention. Write a brief description of the inventor and invention and explain why the invention is important to mankind.

References

Drury, T. Inventor pursues the unknown. http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/1997/09/08/story2.html

The implantable cardiac pacemaker. http://web.mit.edu/invent/www/inventorsA-H/greatbatch.html

Wilson Greatbatch – the inventor. http://www.invent.org/book/book-text/49.html

Verstraete, L. 1999. Accidental Discoveries – From laughing gas to dynamite. Schoolastic Canada LTD.