| The last 100 years of medical history have seen some | | | | surgery. |
| of the most radical breakthroughs in medical equipment | | | | 5. The Jarvik Heart |
| technology. A large part of this was due to the | | | | In 1982, American scientist Robert Jarvik finished |
| exponential boost that medical science got with the | | | | designing the first ever permanent artificial heart |
| advent of computer technology. These devices | | | | implant, the Jarvik 7. The device was made to replace |
| changed their respective medical fields completely and | | | | the heart temporarily, for patients awaiting transplant. |
| opened up new door for further development. | | | | 6. Pacemaker |
| 1. The Laser Scalpel | | | | In 1950, an electrical engineer named John Hopps |
| Shortly after the first laser was successfully tested in | | | | invented the first cardiac pacemaker. It wasn't until the |
| 1960, the field of ophthalmology changed completely. In | | | | late 1950s, however that the first implantable |
| 1964 the carbon dioxide laser made possible the | | | | pacemaker was created by New York researcher |
| invention of the first laser scalpel. The precision of the | | | | Wilson Greatbatch. |
| laser scalpel allowed it to be used extensively in the | | | | 7. The Portable EKG |
| field of ophthalmology and in several different kinds of | | | | The first portable electrocardiogram (EKG) was built in |
| complex and highly delicate surgeries. | | | | 1961 by Frank Sanborn's company, adapted from their |
| 2. The Portable Defibrillator | | | | original table model. |
| Now a mainstay of emergency health care, easy to | | | | 8. The AbioCor Heart |
| use and almost as common as the first aid kit, the first | | | | After the Jarvik heart, the AbioCor has been the most |
| portable defibrillator was invented in 1960 by Frank | | | | revolutionary advance in artificial heart technology. |
| Pantridge in Belfast. | | | | Created using advanced medical miniaturization |
| 3. Ultrasound Machine | | | | technology, the AbioCor has an internal battery that |
| The ultrasound machine has a long development | | | | eliminates the need for extra-bodily wires or tubes. |
| history. One of the biggest breakthrough came in 1962 | | | | The AbioCor was meant to replace the human heart |
| when Joseph Holmes, William Wright, and Ralph | | | | for an extended period of time and not simply |
| Meyerdirk created the first contact B-mode scanner, a | | | | between transplants. |
| prototype that led to the first commercial, portable | | | | 9. CT Scanner |
| ultrasound scanner in '63. | | | | U.K. scientist Sir Godfrey Hounsfield invented the first |
| 4. Balloon Catheter | | | | commercially viable CT scanner in 1971. Since then, the |
| In 1963, inventor Thomas Fogarty patented the first | | | | CT scanner has remained the most sophisticated |
| ever balloon catheter, which soon became the industry | | | | medical imaging tool, used screen the human body in |
| standard. It was the first medical device that allowed | | | | order to diagnose or investigate an illness. |
| for continuous draining of the bladder, crucial during | | | | 10. |