History of Biomedical Engineering

By cmyrla23
  • 1000 BCE

    Oldest Prosthetic?

    Oldest Prosthetic?
    In 2000, German archaeologists discovered a wooden, prosthetic toe from a mummy in Thebes. It was at least 3,000 years old.
  • Period: 1000 BCE to

    From Then, To Now

  • 201 BCE

    First Documented Prosthetic - Marcus Sergius

    Marcus Sergius was the first documented person to wear a prosthetic. He lost his hand in the second Punic War, and it was replaced with an iron prosthetic.
  • 1520

    Advanced Prosthetics - Ambroise Paré

    Along with surgical amputation, Ambroise Paré focused on developing advanced prosthetics, such as legs with hinges for mobility, and even some of the first eye prosthetics.

  • First Stethoscope - René Laennec

    René Laennec was a French physician, most popular for inventing the first stethoscope.

  • First Ophthalmoscope - Hermann von Helmholtz

    First Ophthalmoscope - Hermann von Helmholtz
    Hermann von Helmholtz is considered the first biomedical engineer ever. He developed the first ophthalmoscope, a device to view retinas in eyes, in the mid-1800's.

  • First Syringe - Charles Gabriel Pravaz and Alexander Wood

    First Syringe - Charles Gabriel Pravaz and Alexander Wood
    French surgeon Charles Gabriel Pravaz, and Scottish physician Alexander Wood, worked independently, yet are still both credited with developing the first hypodermic syringes.

  • First ECG - Willem Einthoven

    First ECG - Willem Einthoven
    Willem Einthoven was a Dutch doctor, best known for his invention of the electrocardiogram, or ECG. He received a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1924 for it.

  • First X-ray - Wilhelm Röntgen

    First X-ray - Wilhelm Röntgen
    Wilhelm Röntgen is credited with the discovery of x-rays, along with the development of medical x-rays. He took the first medical x-ray of his wife's hand in 1895.

  • First Heart-Lung Machine - John Heysham Gibbon

    First Heart-Lung Machine - John Heysham Gibbon
    John Heysham Gibbon is best known for inventing the first heart-lung machine, a device that allowed for new, more effective open-heart surgeries.

  • First Pacemaker - Ake Senning and Rune Elmqvist

    First Pacemaker - Ake Senning and Rune Elmqvist
    Ake Senning and Rune Elmqvist worked together to develop the first implantable pacemaker. It was used by 43-year-old Arne Larsson, who lived all the way until he was 86.

  • First CT Scan - Godfrey Hounsfield and Allan McLeod Cormack

    First CT Scan - Godfrey Hounsfield and Allan McLeod Cormack
    Godfrey Hounsfield and Allan McLeod Cormack share a 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work and development of x-ray computed tomography, or CT scans.

  • First MRI - Paul Lauterbur and Peter Mansfield

    First MRI - Paul Lauterbur and Peter Mansfield
    Lauterbur worked on developing the MRI for years, before working with Mansfield to conduct the first full-body MRI. They received a Nobel Prize in 2003. Another collaborator was Morton Mower (pictured), who is included in the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

  • First Artificial Heart - Willem Kolff

    First Artificial Heart - Willem Kolff
    Willem Kolff was a biomedical engineer, who focused on the development of artificial organs. He supervised the implant of the first "permanent" artificial heart in 1982.

  • LASIK - Rangaswamy Srinivasan

  • Advanced Artificial Heart

    Advanced Artificial Heart
    A group of surgeons from Abiomed, Inc. collaborated to develop a more advanced, implantable artificial heart. Unlike past versions, this artificial heart did not need to be connected to a huge console. It was used by a man with heart failure.

  • Camera Pill - University of Washington

    Camera Pill - University of Washington
    Researchers at the University of Washington developed a way to spot some of the earliest signs of cancer: swallowing a camera! Not only is it fairly cheap, but it's also very effective in spotting esophageal cancer, the fastest spreading cancer in the US.