Pacemaker Pioneers

Wilson Greatbatch

etreliqua.wordpress.com

Wilson Greatbatch was a pioneering inventor and American engineer who held more than 325 patents and was a recipient of the Lemelson–MIT Prize. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He is best known for inventing the first implantable pacemaker in 1958.

“I seriously doubt if anything I ever do will ever give me the elation I felt that day when my own two-cubic-inch piece of electronic design controlled a living heart."

~ Wilson Greatbatch

John Hopps

thediscoverblog.com

John Hopps was one of the first pioneers of the artificial pacemaker and the founder of the Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Society. This Canadian electrical engineer invented one of the most advanced external pacemakers in 1941.

William Chardack

Heartrhythmjournal.com.

William Chardack, a skilled and innovative cardiothoracic surgeon, was a recognized pioneer in the development of the implantable pacemaker through his work with Wilson Greatbatch. He was also known for his admirable leadership skills, tenacious pursuit of cures for difficult cancers, and experimental surgical research.

Otis Boykin

Teacher.scholastic.com.

Otis Boykin was an African-American engineer and inventor who patented 27 electronic devices. He is best known for inventing an electronic control device for pacemakers, as well as guided missiles and IBM computers.