Born on October 8
The First Implanted Pacemaker
Keeping hearts in time since 1958.
Next: October 8, 2027
Where it comes from
This Story marks the anniversary of 8 October 1958, when the surgeon Åke Senning, at the Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm, implanted the first pacemaker to be placed inside a patient's body. It was built by Rune Elmqvist of the Swedish firm Elema-Schönander, using silicon transistors, then a new technology.
How it's celebrated
There is no formal observance, though heart journals and the company that grew out of Elema-Schönander marked the 50th anniversary in 2008. Millions of people have since lived fuller lives with a pacemaker, each one a descendant of that first small device.
Did you know
The first unit, placed in the wall of Larsson's abdomen, worked for only three hours, so the team replaced it the next morning with the only backup they had.
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