Skip to main content

Heart

Society: ASME Main Category: Mechanical Sub Category: Biomedical Engineering Era: 1950-1959 DateCreated: 1957 Capen Hall Buffalo State: NY Zip: 14228 Country: USA Website: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-a-l/biomedical-engineering/-55-blood-heat-exchanger-%281957%29, http://files.asme.org/ASMEORG/Communities/History/Landmarks/5505.pdf Creator: Brown Jr., Ivan , Emmons, W.D.
This is the first commercial, human-blood heat exchanger. Developed in 1957, it permitted a patient's body temperature to be safely and rapidly lowered during open heart surgery to any desired and precisely controlled hypothermic level, then during the conclusion of the operation rapidly rewarmed to normal. Prior to this, hypothermic surgery required hours of preoperative, hard-to-control, external emersion cooling and postoperative rewarming. Its design was a cooperative development between researchers at the Duke University Medical Center led by Dr. Ivan W.
YearAdded:
1980
Image Credit: Courtesy ASME Image Caption: A disassembly of the Blood Heat Exchanger Era_date_from: 1957
Subscribe to Heart
This is the first commercial, human-blood heat exchanger. Developed in 1957, it permitted a patient's body temperature to be safely and rapidly lowered during open heart surgery to any desired and precisely controlled hypothermic level, then during the conclusion of the operation rapidly rewarmed… Read More

We hope you enjoyed this essay.

Please support this 70-year tradition of trusted historical writing and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to American Heritage.

Donate

Stay informed - subscribe to our newsletter.
The subscriber's email address.