An electrocardiograph is the device used in electrocardiography to produce an electrocardiogram, a line-graph recording of the heart's electrical activity across repeated heartbeats, most commonly abbreviated ECG or EKG. Electrodes placed on the skin detect the minute electrical voltage shifts produced by the heart muscle with each beat, and the device plots those voltage changes over time. The Dutch physiologist Willem Einthoven developed the foundational technology, building a string galvanometer in 1903 sensitive enough to measure the heart's small electrical signals precisely, an achievement recognized with the Nobel Prize in 1924. Electrocardiographs have since moved from analog electronics to devices using analog-to-digital converters, and modern versions range from wheeled hospital carts with screens down to compact fitness trackers and smartwatches.
Facts
SignificanceWillem Einthoven's 1903 string galvanometer enabled precise measurement of the heart's electrical signals, revolutionizing cardiography and earning him the 1924 Nobel Prize. 1 FAQs
What did Willem Einthoven win the Nobel Prize for?
Einthoven won the 1924 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering the mechanism of the electrocardiogram.
Willem Einthoven received the 1924 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and the prize motivation reads "for his discovery of the mechanism of the electrocardiogram". The Nobel Prize organization notes that one key to this progress was the string galvanometer, a device that precisely measures tiny currents, which Einthoven constructed in 1903. That instrument is the foundation of the electrocardiograph, and the prize recognized how the heart's electrical signal could be recorded and read.
Connections
Associated With
Source Willem Einthoven (ETHW)
In Field
Source Electrocardiography - Wikipedia
Invented By
Source Willem Einthoven (ETHW)
Sources
1. Electrocardiography - Wikipedia
History section
Willem Einthoven's 1903 string galvanometer enabled precise measurement of these signals, revolutionizing cardiography.
History section, Nobel Prize note
Willem Einthoven's 1903 string galvanometer enabled precise measurement of these signals, revolutionizing cardiography.
In Field: Biomedical Engineering, Categories
Diagnostic cardiology
In Group: Patient Monitoring and Diagnostic Instruments, Lead
Electrocardiography is the process of using an electrocardiograph (a device) to produce an electrocardiogram (a recording, often called an ECG or EKG) that shows a line graph of the heart's electrical activity through repeated cardiac cycles.
View the SourceWillem Einthoven (ETHW)
Associated With: Willem Einthoven, Biography
Such was the insatiable thirst for knowledge that drove the man who would become famous as the inventor of the electrocardiogram (EKG) , one of the most important medical inventions of all time.
Invented By: Willem Einthoven, Biography
Such was the insatiable thirst for knowledge that drove the man who would become famous as the inventor of the electrocardiogram (EKG) , one of the most important medical inventions of all time.
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.