Recollections of My Research in Developing the Heart-Lung Machine at Jefferson Medical College

A personal memoir written by Dr. Bernard J. Miller about his introduction to and interest in medical research as well as his experiences working on the heart-lung machine. He focuses specifically on his working relationship with John H. Gibbon, Jr., the development of a viable oxygenator and ventilator, and early testing of the machine on animal

Dr. John H. Gibbon, Jr. and Jefferson\u27s Heart-Lung Machine: Commemoration of the World\u27s First Successful Bypass Surgery

On May 6, 1953 at Jefferson Medical College Hospital, Dr. John Heysham Gibbon, Jr., his staff, and with the help of his latest-designed heart-lung machine, “Model II,” closed a very serious septal defect between the upper chambers of the heart of eighteen-year-old Cecelia Bavolek. This was the first successful intercardiac surgery of its kind performed on a human patient. Ms. Bavolek was connected to the device for three-quarters of an hour and for 26 crucial minutes, the patient totally depended upon the machine’s artificial cardiac and respiratory functions. “Jack” Gibbon did not follow this epoch-making event by holding an international press conference or by swiftly publishing his achievements in a major medical journal. In fact he later recalled that it was the first and only time that he did not write his own operative notes (which were supplied by Dr. Robert K. Finley, Jr.). According to a recent biographical review by C. Rollins Hanlon, “Therein lies a hint of the complex, unassuming personality behind the magnificent technical and surgical achievement of this patrician Philadelphia surgeon.”https://jdc.jefferson.edu/jeffhistoryposters/1000/thumbnail.jp

Nurses\u27 Alumnae Association Bulletin - Volume 18 Number 1

Alumnae Notes Central Dressing Room Committee Reports Digest of Alumnae Association Meetings Graduation Awards - 1952 Greetings from Miss Childs Greetings from the President Marriages Modern Trends in Orthopaedic Surgery Necrology New Arrivals Physical Advances at Jefferson Hospital - 1953 Staff Activities - 1952-1953 Student Activities The Artificial Heart Lung Machin

Heart Rate Monitoring During Different Lung Volume Phases Using Seismocardiography

Seismocardiography (SCG) is a non-invasive method that can be used for cardiac activity monitoring. This paper presents a new electrocardiogram (ECG) independent approach for estimating heart rate (HR) during low and high lung volume (LLV and HLV, respectively) phases using SCG signals. In this study, SCG, ECG, and respiratory flow rate (RFR) signals were measured simultaneously in 7 healthy subjects. The lung volume information was calculated from the RFR and was used to group the SCG events into low and high lung-volume groups. LLV and HLV SCG events were then used to estimate the subjects HR as well as the HR during LLV and HLV in 3 different postural positions, namely supine, 45 degree heads-up, and sitting. The performance of the proposed algorithm was tested against the standard ECG measurements. Results showed that the HR estimations from the SCG and ECG signals were in a good agreement (bias of 0.08 bpm). All subjects were found to have a higher HR during HLV (HR$_\text{HLV}$) compared to LLV (HR$_\text{LLV}$) at all postural positions. The HR$_\text{HLV}$/HR$_\text{LLV}$ ratio was 1.11$\pm$0.07, 1.08$\pm$0.05, 1.09$\pm$0.04, and 1.09$\pm$0.04 (mean$\pm$SD) for supine, 45 degree-first trial, 45 degree-second trial, and sitting positions, respectively. This heart rate variability may be due, at least in part, to the well-known respiratory sinus arrhythmia. HR monitoring from SCG signals might be used in different clinical applications including wearable cardiac monitoring systems

Experimental studies on coronary perfusion with pump-oxygenator

1. Methods of retrograde coronary perfusion and direct coronary artery perfusion in combination with a bubble oxygenator were investigated in dogs. 2. Ventricular fibrillation occurred more frequently during the operation in hypothermia than in the operation performed in combination with the extracorporeal circulation. 3. The optimal pressure of perfusion is considered to be 30 to 35 mm Hg in retroperfusion, whereas, 100 mm Hg in direct coronary artery perfusion. 4. Perfusion by the pressure bottle method is preferable to the gravity method because the fall of blood temperature in the irrigation tubing might cause ventricular fibrillation. 5. From the metabolic study of the methods is clear that there is a tendency to myocardial anoxia after 15 to 20 minutes of perfusion in both methods.</p

An Adaptive Feature Extraction Algorithm for Classification of Seismocardiographic Signals

This paper proposes a novel adaptive feature extraction algorithm for seismocardiographic (SCG) signals. The proposed algorithm divides the SCG signal into a number of bins, where the length of each bin is determined based on the signal change within that bin. For example, when the signal variation is steeper, the bins are shorter and vice versa. The proposed algorithm was used to extract features of the SCG signals recorded from 7 healthy individuals (Age: 29.4$\pm$4.5 years) during different lung volume phases. The output of the feature extraction algorithm was fed into a support vector machines classifier to classify SCG events into two classes of high and low lung volume (HLV and LLV). The classification results were compared with currently available non-adaptive feature extraction methods for different number of bins. Results showed that the proposed algorithm led to a classification accuracy of ~90%. The proposed algorithm outperformed the non-adaptive algorithm, especially as the number of bins was reduced. For example, for 16 bins, F1 score for the adaptive and non-adaptive methods were 0.91$\pm$0.05 and 0.63$\pm$0.08, respectively

Technology applications

A summary of NASA Technology Utilization programs for the period of 1 December 1971 through 31 May 1972 is presented. An abbreviated description of the overall Technology Utilization Applications Program is provided as a background for the specific applications examples. Subjects discussed are in the broad headings of: (1) cancer, (2) cardiovascular disease, (2) medical instrumentation, (4) urinary system disorders, (5) rehabilitation medicine, (6) air and water pollution, (7) housing and urban construction, (8) fire safety, (9) law enforcement and criminalistics, (10) transportation, and (11) mine safety

Thyroid Hormone as a Method of Reducing Damage to Donor Hearts after Circulatory Arrest

There is a chronic lack of donor hearts to meet the need for heart transplant both in the US and worldwide. Further, the use of available hearts is limited by the short period between collection and implantation during which the heart can be safely preserved ex vivo. Using mid-thermic Langendorff machine perfusion, we have been able to preserve the metabolic function of a healthy heart for up to 8 hours, twice the limit for current static cold storage. We have also been able to preserve the metabolic function of a damaged DCD Heart collected 30 minutes after cardiac arrest for a period of 8 hours. We further investigated whether it was possible to improve the preservation of DCD heart using treatment with 10 μM Triiodothyronine to stimulate the tissue metabolism and we did find a reduction in damage markers in the treated DCD hearts as compared to the untreated group

Applications of aerospace technology in the public sector

Current activities of the program to accelerate specific applications of space related technology in major public sector problem areas are summarized for the period 1 June 1971 through 30 November 1971. An overview of NASA technology, technology applications, and supporting activities are presented. Specific technology applications in biomedicine are reported including cancer detection, treatment and research; cardiovascular diseases, diagnosis, and treatment; medical instrumentation; kidney function disorders, treatment, and research; and rehabilitation medicine