There have been many great advances in hospital medical equipment over the last century, but most of us take them for granted. The scientific community has graced us with some revolutionary pieces of hospital medical equipment that have saved many lives and generally helped people live longer and better. And many of the new pieces of hospital medical equipment that have been introduced have opened the door for even more equipment inventions. Consider the following simple pieces of equipment that are now taken for granted, which did not even exist before the 1960s.
Hospital Medical Equipment of the 1960s
The laser scalpel is still a pretty impressive piece of hospital medical equipment, but it is used in so many different procedures that it is no longer appreciated as the delicate and precise technological wonder it is. Laser scalpels were not invented until 1964, thanks to testing beginning in 1960 that eventually led to the carbon dioxide laser. Portable defibrillators were also introduced in 1960 in Belfast, Germany. They are now about as common as first aid kits. Ultrasound machines were developed around the same time, in 1962 to be exact, although they are not quite as easily portable.
The early 1960s were really quite a time for hospital medical equipment inventions. Balloon catheters were invented by Thomas Fogarty in 1963. Fogarty patented the first balloon catheter that became the industry standard for continuous draining of the bladder, which is crucial during surgery. And the first portable EKG, or electrocardiogram, was built in 1961 by Frank Sanborn’s company. Although EKGs were already an accepted piece of hospital medical equipment, they had never been portable prior to that.
These equipments are now taken for granted in hospitals and other medical care settings, but life wouldn’t be the same without them. It’s a good thing about living today.
