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Surface myomechanical responses recorded on a scanner galvanometer.

A moving magnet galvanometer equipped with lever and indentor was evaluated for mechanomyography (MMG). First, the precision of the galvanometer was tested on a piezo-electric disc actuator. Using a 50 mm lever, synthesised micromotions with an amplitude of 1 microm could be detected (noise level < 0.2 microm) at static indentation forces ranging from 0.1 to 2 N. Then the galvanometer was mounted on an isometric ankle dynamometer to sense calf-muscle responses (N = 6). In the first protocol, twitch contractions were elicited by electrical stimulation while the indentation force was increased. Twitch amplitudes, twitch contraction times and twitch half-relaxation times were analysed from the surface and contraction responses. With indentation force (0.1-0.5 N), the amplitude of the surface responses increased (+61%), contraction and half-relaxation times, however, were not influenced. The mean twitch contraction time from the surface responses (60 +/- 11 ms) was shorter than that from the contraction responses (115 +/- 7 ms), indicating more fast-contracting fibres under the indented area. In the second protocol, voluntary target contractions were produced, and the surface responses were simultaneously recorded on an accelerometer. After double differentiation of the galvanometer signal, both acceleration MMGs showed a high coincidence in the time and frequency domains. With an indentation force of 2 N applied on the accelerometer, the signal amplitude (-10%) and the mean frequency (-19%) decreased. A specific application of this galvanometer-dynamometer test system is the assessment of regeneration processes in paraplegics with long-term denervated muscles.

Electric Stimulation↗

Centennial of the string galvanometer and the electrocardiogram.

This article is a review of the history of the string galvanometer and of the electrocardiogram (ECG) on the occasion of the centennial of the instrument. Einthoven most likely developed the string galvanometer prior to 1901, the date of the first publication. The galvanometer made electrocardiography practical creating a new branch of medicine and even a new industry. In 1791 Galvani, in 1842 Mateucci and in 1855 Kolliker and Muller recorded, using the nerve muscle preparation, contraction of injured muscle, contraction of muscle when laid across a beating heart, and occasionally two contractions. In 1872 Lippmann introduced the capillary manometer. Using the capillary manometer Waller recorded for the first time from body surface voltage changes generated by the heart. Einthoven and Lewis dominated the early years of electrocardiography. The former made his contributions by 1913 while Lewis continued the studies of arrhythmias until 1920. The period following 1920 was influenced largely by Wilson. None did as much to advance ECG knowledge as did Wilson. The interest shifted to the theory of the ECG, abnormalities of wave form and of ECG leads. A major contribution of the ECG is in evaluation of ischemic heart disease and cardiac arrhythmias. Issues facing electrocardiography in the year 2000 include a shortage of experienced electrocardiographers, the advent of new noninvasive procedures and, paradoxically, wide acceptance of the ECG by the medical profession. The role of the computer in analysis of the clinical ECG is limited. The technique, while reasonably reliable for analysis of the normal tracing and some ECG waveforms, has serious limitations when applied to arrhythmias. The early hopes for "stand-alone" programs are yet to be realized.

Cardiology↗

[Adaptation of Einthoven's string galvanometer for electrocardiography in the Netherlands].

After the Dutch physiologist Willem Einthoven (1860-1927) published the construction of his string galvanometer in 1901, the development of electrocardiography in the Netherlands was slow. During the next twenty years only a few string galvanometers were in use in the Netherlands, mostly in physiology laboratories. Publications concerning electrocardiographic tests on patients were scarce. In 1924, Einthoven was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine for discovering the mechanism of the electrocardiogram. From that moment onwards, electrocardiography developed rapidly in the Netherlands and during the following 30 years particular use was made of the French string galvanometer designed by Boulitte.

Electrocardiography↗

Fluorescence detection in capillary arrays based on galvanometer step scanning.

A computer-controlled galvanometer scanner is adapted for scanning a focused laser beam across a 96-capillary array for laser-induced fluorescence detection. The signal at a single photomultiplier tube is temporally sorted to distinguish among the capillaries. The limit of detection for fluoresceins is 3 x 10(-11) M (S/N = 3) for 5 mW of total laser power scanned at 4 Hz. The observed cross-talk among capillaries is 0.2%. Advantages include the efficient utilization of light due to the high duty-cycle of step scan, good detection performance due to the reduction of stray light, ruggedness due to the small mass of the galvanometer mirror, low cost due to the simplicity of components, and flexibility due to the independent paths for excitation and emission.

Electrophoresis, Capillary↗

[The string of Einthoven's string galvanometer].

The Dutch physiologist Willem Einthoven (1860-1927) published in 1901 his construction of a string galvanometer. With this apparatus he opened the era for electrocardiography. As the quality of his instrument largely depended on the string of the string galvanometer it is surprising to note that in his publications Einthoven never mentioned the exact way of producing the string. However, Einthoven's hand written laboratory notes are preserved at the Museum Boerhaave in Leiden. From these notes it comes clear what problems Einthoven had with the string. To get a very thin thread of quarts he first used the method of shooting the thread as was described by Boys (1887), later the blowing method of Nichols (1894). The silvering of the thread was done first chemically, later by cathode spray. In all cases premature breaking of the thread was a nuisance. Because of these failures Einthoven might have decided not to publish any details.

Electrocardiography↗

Willem Einthoven--the man. The string galvanometer electrocardiograph.

Despite the universal use of the electrocardiogram for cardiac evaluation, surprisingly few physicians are aware of the individual, Willem Einthoven, who in 1901 reported and in 1924 received the Nobel Prize for the development of the string galvanometer electrocardiograph. Following the development of this comparatively simple device, there has been a succession of increasingly, electrically exotic, electrocardiographs, none of which surpass the original Einthoven instrument in recording accuracy. The resolution of mechanical problems in the laboratory, incident to development of the Einthoven instrument, is of interest in view of the primitive laboratory equipment available during the period the device was developed. Einthoven's preference for funds for additional laboratory assistants and equipment, in lieu of a new laboratory building as a monument to his name and his subsequent disposal of half of the Nobel Prize money, reveal the basic character of this great man, rightfully called the Father of Electrocardiography.

Electrocardiography↗

The galvanometer.

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Electrophysiology↗