Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Medical History Revisited: What Is This?

I found this today (no, not the pen). 

Click to enlarge

What is it?

-Wes

P.S.: I'll post the answer later in the comments section...

5 comments:

Kidney_Boy said...

solar charged iPod case

Jay said...

Looks like it may be an ICD emulalator can for DFT testing with an external cardioverter defibrillator (ECD). We used these in the early days of pectoral ICD implants, back when using the ICD can as a shocking electrode (I.e. hot can) was a new technology. Back then with monophasic waveforms, it wasn't uncommon to have high defibrillator thresholds at implant, so we'd test with the emulator before committing to opening an actual device.

I don't recognize this model, but this seems plausible.

Let me know if I'm way off

Jay

vanderleun said...

Whatever you do don't implant it.

Anonymous said...

Unipolar pacemaker?

DrWes said...

Anony 03:22 PM -

Bingo!

Here's a high-resolution picture of the OTHER side of the device.

This is an explanted Pacesetter Model UD102 Unipolar VVI RECHARGEABLE demand pacemaker with a fixed rate of 72 b/min marketed in 1973. This device was unique not only because it was recharged by using magnetic inductance to create a current in the metallic plate seen on the device, but because it was one of the first pacemakers to use radiofrequency transmission to communicate with the device. It should be noted that the header of the device where the lead was inserted was removed. Another picture of this device was hard to find on the internet, but here's one I found.