WEBVTT - Pacemakers Got the Beat 0:00:04.240 --> 0:00:07.240 Get in tests with technology with text stuff from half 0:00:07.240 --> 0:00:14.520 stuff works dot com. Hey there, and welcome to textuff 0:00:14.520 --> 0:00:19.240 on Jonathan Stricklin. Today we're going to talk about pacemakers. 0:00:20.079 --> 0:00:24.040 So these little medical devices that are incredible. I mean, 0:00:24.079 --> 0:00:28.800 these are life saving devices that have made countless people's 0:00:28.880 --> 0:00:33.519 lives better. It's impossible. It's it's when when the electrical 0:00:33.600 --> 0:00:37.640 impulses of your heart are less good than they should be. Wait, whoa, 0:00:37.680 --> 0:00:42.120 whoa electrical impulses, Lauren, Now you're talking crazy talk. What 0:00:42.200 --> 0:00:45.440 do you mean electrical impulses. That's that's how the heart works. 0:00:45.560 --> 0:00:48.879 There's crazy there. We we we have natural pacemakers, and 0:00:48.960 --> 0:00:52.080 sometimes they work less well than others. But so yeah, 0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:55.080 so so. Pacemakers are are small devices that are implanted 0:00:55.360 --> 0:00:59.320 nearish the heart, in the general chest, airs, cavity, shoulder, 0:00:59.400 --> 0:01:03.120 abdomen's where on there. They use low energy electrical impulses 0:01:03.160 --> 0:01:07.720 to help control any abnormal heart rhythms um sometimes called 0:01:08.200 --> 0:01:11.440 arrhythmias rhythmia. Thank you, I had an arrhythmia as a child, 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:14.400 did you. Yep? I had an arrhythmia and a heart murmur. 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:18.640 Wow that's exciting in the bad way. So anyway, so 0:01:18.640 --> 0:01:20.959 those can be that your heart is beating either too fast, 0:01:21.000 --> 0:01:24.319 too slow, or irregularly. And um, there are more long 0:01:24.360 --> 0:01:26.880 words for all of those things, which right now there's 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:31.440 there's a tachycardia there you go, yeah, and breda cardia. Yes, 0:01:31.640 --> 0:01:34.640 so those are the too so breda cardias if it's 0:01:34.800 --> 0:01:39.039 beating too slowly, and tachycardia is when it's too quickly. Sure, 0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:43.120 there's also other conditions that can that can wrap up 0:01:43.160 --> 0:01:48.200 into needing a pacemaker a k A. M. Atrial fibrilation 0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:50.440 in which the upper chambers of the heart kind of 0:01:50.520 --> 0:01:53.880 quiver instead of really contracting. Yeah. So, in order for 0:01:53.880 --> 0:01:55.800 you to really understand what we're talking about here, the 0:01:56.040 --> 0:01:59.240 heart is divided up into four chambers right right, the 0:01:59.320 --> 0:02:01.640 left and right atria, which are the upper chambers, and 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:04.560 the left and right ventricles, which are the lower chambers. Right, 0:02:04.640 --> 0:02:07.880 So the upper chamber chambers, the atria, when they when 0:02:07.920 --> 0:02:11.480 they contract, they force blood down into the ventricles, which 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:13.079 then when they can try to force it throughout the 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:16.160 rest of the body. And so the combination of these 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:18.600 two contractions are what we think of the heartbeat. The 0:02:18.600 --> 0:02:21.960 whole love dub dub is that. Yeah, So that's you know, 0:02:22.040 --> 0:02:25.720 the love the atria and the dub the ventricles, so 0:02:26.440 --> 0:02:29.359 you know that there's just plenty of room for romance. 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:32.920 But so if if one of these is not working 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:36.480 out correctly, then it's it's a huge problem. Right. So, 0:02:36.600 --> 0:02:39.200 if the atria are doing this fibrillation where they are 0:02:39.240 --> 0:02:42.880 quivering instead of beating, then it's not providing the right 0:02:42.880 --> 0:02:44.800 amount of blood to the ventricles to pump it through 0:02:44.840 --> 0:02:46.919 the rest of the body. That's all obviously an issue, 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:49.640 but there's another one too. Write there's also heart block, 0:02:49.919 --> 0:02:52.720 in which the electrical signal is slowed or disrupted as 0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:55.600 it moves through the heart. So again the problem with 0:02:56.040 --> 0:02:58.720 actually the signal reaching the place where it needs to 0:02:58.760 --> 0:03:02.200 go so that you have a healthy heartbeat. Right. It's 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:03.959 it's like if the cover on your wire is a 0:03:04.000 --> 0:03:08.200 little bit screwy something something to that extent, except the 0:03:08.240 --> 0:03:11.519 wires your heart and you need that wire pretty badly. Yeah, 0:03:11.639 --> 0:03:15.280 it's it's um. Unless you're the tin man, you pretty 0:03:15.320 --> 0:03:18.119 much need one. And these conditions can be caused by 0:03:18.240 --> 0:03:22.280 all kinds of disease and other wackiness that could be. 0:03:22.400 --> 0:03:26.040 It could be an inherited condition, it can be after 0:03:26.080 --> 0:03:29.240 a heart attack, if if a heart attack damages the muscle, right, yeah, 0:03:29.240 --> 0:03:31.359 there are injuries that can end up injuring the heart 0:03:31.400 --> 0:03:33.360 as a as a result. Yeah. So there's lots of 0:03:33.360 --> 0:03:35.920 different ways that this could happen, including things like just 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:40.360 coming out of a surgery that's unrelated to your heart. Sure, absolutely, Okay, 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:44.480 So so what happens when your heart lacks rhythm? You 0:03:44.560 --> 0:03:49.440 can no longer do really crazy dances like the electric slide. Okay, 0:03:49.440 --> 0:03:52.160 true enough. However, it mostly means that your body might 0:03:52.200 --> 0:03:55.800 not be getting enough blood, which would cause a tiredness, lightheadedness, 0:03:55.840 --> 0:04:00.440 breathlessness even like fainting, organ damage, and and can potentially 0:04:00.440 --> 0:04:04.400 even lead to death if it goes unchecked. Yeah. Yeah, 0:04:04.520 --> 0:04:08.119 so we're talking about very serious stuff. Now. A healthy 0:04:08.160 --> 0:04:12.240 adult has a heart rate at rest. That's what between 0:04:12.320 --> 0:04:15.840 sixty beats permant something like that. Ye ye, so um, 0:04:15.880 --> 0:04:18.799 mind's on the high end, which is actually not great. 0:04:18.880 --> 0:04:22.240 It means that, honestly, that Jonathan needs to exercise more 0:04:22.360 --> 0:04:24.560 so that I have a healthier cardio life. And that's 0:04:24.600 --> 0:04:28.080 something that I am working on because it's a concern, right, 0:04:28.120 --> 0:04:31.560 I'm getting I'm getting to a certain age um physically 0:04:31.600 --> 0:04:34.760 if not mentally or emotionally, so I need to prepare 0:04:34.760 --> 0:04:38.560 for that. Generally, slower heartbeat within that range is is ideal. 0:04:38.800 --> 0:04:41.920 Um and healthy heartbeats are regular because we have, like 0:04:41.960 --> 0:04:44.919 I said earlier, those built in pacemakers. Those are the 0:04:45.080 --> 0:04:48.760 sino ar trial I said that right, Yes, which at 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:53.360 the at the at the upper right. Okay, gotcha. So yeah, 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:56.760 so it's this is kind of the signal that lets 0:04:56.760 --> 0:05:01.200 the atria no to to contract. So once that signal 0:05:01.279 --> 0:05:04.320 goes through to contract the atria, what happens then, Like, 0:05:04.360 --> 0:05:07.599 how is it then move onto the ventricle um, it 0:05:07.720 --> 0:05:13.480 passes through another node, the atrio ventricular nod. Well, yeah, okay, cool. 0:05:13.560 --> 0:05:15.960 So you've got two nodes that are doing this and 0:05:16.000 --> 0:05:19.200 they're doing it in a very precise rhythm so that 0:05:19.240 --> 0:05:23.000 it creates this contraction that that then pumps the blood 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:24.600 through the rest of the body. All right, And if 0:05:24.640 --> 0:05:28.960 that's atrial node isn't working properly, the atrio ventricular node 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:31.360 can take over for it. But it's a it's it's 0:05:31.360 --> 0:05:34.039 a weaker force, so it's not as efficient, it's not 0:05:34.080 --> 0:05:35.919 as efficient. It's only going to get you up to 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:39.600 about forty beats per minute. Which, um, is why you're 0:05:39.600 --> 0:05:42.720 going to encounter that fatigue and breathlessness and stuff like that. Right, 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:46.240 So you'll you'll you'll live, but you'll be getting an 0:05:46.240 --> 0:05:51.560 increasingly poor condition. Um. So what do pacemakers do. Pacemakers 0:05:52.200 --> 0:05:55.840 can can regulate that they can help slow the rhythm 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:58.640 of a too fast heartbeat or help control and a 0:05:58.720 --> 0:06:02.640 regular or too fast form or too slow them. So 0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:07.240 they can they can monitor the impulses and override it 0:06:07.680 --> 0:06:09.440 or pulses, I guess I should say, and override it 0:06:09.520 --> 0:06:12.279 so that it has a more regular heartbeat and keep 0:06:12.360 --> 0:06:16.560 someone at an optimal heartbeat range. Right. Sure, And and 0:06:16.600 --> 0:06:19.760 if those if those two nodes are not communicating properly, 0:06:20.120 --> 0:06:23.080 a pacemaker can help coordinate the electrical signals between them. 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:26.800 I see. So if maybe the cino ore atrial nodes 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:31.159 working just fine, but perhaps the ventricular ones not, then 0:06:31.200 --> 0:06:34.240 this could help balance that balance that out right? Sure? 0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:37.720 And it does this because okay, So, so a pacemaker 0:06:37.880 --> 0:06:41.240 is essentially a very small generator hooked up to a 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:44.280 battery and a computer. Again, very small battery and very 0:06:44.279 --> 0:06:48.400 small computer. You have to be implant the sure um 0:06:48.520 --> 0:06:52.000 and wires are threaded from the pacemaker through a vein 0:06:52.200 --> 0:06:55.200 to the heart. Um. Those wires being tipped with electrodes, 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:59.120 and the electrodes detect your heart's electrical activity and rhythm 0:06:59.160 --> 0:07:01.440 and then send that information to the computer which will 0:07:01.480 --> 0:07:05.200 monitor them. Um and then uh, it will direct the 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:08.480 generator to fire whenever the signals go go wnkey all right. 0:07:08.560 --> 0:07:11.520 So what the computer is doing is looking for any irregularities, 0:07:11.680 --> 0:07:16.160 share addresses that right. Um. It can also record these 0:07:16.200 --> 0:07:19.080 signals for your doctor to upload and used to adjust 0:07:19.160 --> 0:07:21.880 your pacemaker. Um using a wireless device. They don't have 0:07:21.920 --> 0:07:24.160 to do surgery on you and check it because they 0:07:24.160 --> 0:07:26.960 want to check it about quarterly, so that would be messy. 0:07:27.080 --> 0:07:30.160 So this is kind of like a very important version 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:33.040 of a physical activity tracker. It's keeping data on the 0:07:33.080 --> 0:07:35.320 activity of your heart and let your doctor know exactly 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:37.880 what's going on right right um. In some cases, that 0:07:37.920 --> 0:07:41.280 onboard computer can even be accessed remotely via the interwebs. 0:07:41.960 --> 0:07:46.000 So for those of you who are privacy worried about 0:07:46.000 --> 0:07:47.960 that kind of thing, the idea that your heart rate 0:07:48.040 --> 0:07:51.560 is being monitored remotely maybe not for you. I actually 0:07:51.560 --> 0:07:54.200 think I actually think it's super awesome, Like the idea 0:07:54.320 --> 0:07:58.120 that that a doctor would have that level of granular 0:07:58.600 --> 0:08:02.840 information about a pay stients health and and even be 0:08:02.960 --> 0:08:06.960 able to preemptively tell the patient, hey, I'm detecting some 0:08:07.080 --> 0:08:10.160 unusual readings here. Could you come in so that we 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:12.400 can make sure that you are in good shape, that 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:14.760 you're in good shape, and that it's not an equipment malfunction. 0:08:15.120 --> 0:08:17.560 And you know, obviously that would be incredibly important. And 0:08:17.600 --> 0:08:20.240 if it were, you know, I mean there's some some 0:08:20.280 --> 0:08:23.200 people have pacemakers who are who are basically doing okay, 0:08:23.200 --> 0:08:26.160 it's more precautionary, and but there are other very life 0:08:26.200 --> 0:08:31.800 threatening ventricular diseases. Sure, sure, yeah, some models, called great 0:08:31.840 --> 0:08:35.040 responsive models will actually adjust to your heart rate to 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:38.880 your changes in activity. Gotcha is like, which again makes sense. 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:42.719 For example, like if you're exerting yourself, then you might 0:08:42.760 --> 0:08:45.040 need a different heart rate than if you were at rest. 0:08:45.440 --> 0:08:48.600 And uh that's why I remember older pacemakers that was 0:08:48.640 --> 0:08:50.959 a real challenge because they would they would keep a 0:08:51.040 --> 0:08:53.520 very steady heart rate, which was great, but if you 0:08:53.559 --> 0:08:56.840 break into a brisk jug your heart wouldn't be able 0:08:56.880 --> 0:08:59.240 to to keep up when the in the computer would 0:08:59.240 --> 0:09:02.960 start misfire. Right, So that was a real issue. Sure sure, so, um, 0:09:03.040 --> 0:09:05.959 So there are three basic types of pacemakers. You've got 0:09:05.960 --> 0:09:08.600 single chamber which carry impulses from the generator to the 0:09:08.640 --> 0:09:12.240 heart's right ventricle. Dual chamber which carry those impulses to 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:15.240 the right ventricle and the right atrium um and and 0:09:15.280 --> 0:09:18.000 also helped coordinate the timing between the two. Then you've 0:09:18.040 --> 0:09:22.200 got bi ventricular which which carry those impulses to the 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:26.439 right atrium and both ventricles helping coordinate all of the signals. 0:09:26.559 --> 0:09:29.360 And uh, those are yeah for for as you can imagine, 0:09:29.480 --> 0:09:33.199 those those are increasing in seriousness right right, obviously because 0:09:33.240 --> 0:09:35.320 you're talking about having to take over more and more 0:09:35.320 --> 0:09:38.079 of the hearts activity. There are all there are also 0:09:38.120 --> 0:09:43.120 related UM implantable cardio verter cardioverter did I say that right? Yes, 0:09:43.160 --> 0:09:47.760 implantable cardioverter defibrillators, which UM use not only those low 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:50.880 energy impulses that a regular pacemaker would use, but also 0:09:51.040 --> 0:09:55.160 UM high high energy impulses when necessary to treat very 0:09:55.200 --> 0:09:59.960 life threatening So like if you're for example, there I'll 0:09:59.800 --> 0:10:01.360 t talk about some of the early ones of this, 0:10:02.000 --> 0:10:05.079 but there are some devices that let's say the detects 0:10:05.080 --> 0:10:07.360 at your heart that maybe you're going into cardiac arrest. 0:10:07.440 --> 0:10:11.440 It can actually deliver a strong enough electrical impulse to possibly, 0:10:11.559 --> 0:10:14.679 you know, kickstart your heart going again. So it ends 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:16.840 up being like you know, if you guys have ever 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:20.480 seen any medical procedural, you have obviously seen the person 0:10:20.520 --> 0:10:25.680 with which they usually use incorrectly. Yeah, the clear part 0:10:25.720 --> 0:10:29.080 is important, by the way, Yes, but now he's doing 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:33.800 poorly from too much electric Um. Yeah, that's ah. This 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:36.160 is something that's sort of an implantable device that does 0:10:36.160 --> 0:10:38.120 a similar thing, although it does it in a very 0:10:38.160 --> 0:10:40.760 precise way because it's delivering it directly to the heart 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:47.199 and um and and not every pacemaker does this. Um. 0:10:47.240 --> 0:10:50.120 They can also, like Jonathan said earlier, be temporary if 0:10:50.160 --> 0:10:52.160 you've just had if you've just had a heart attack 0:10:52.240 --> 0:10:55.559 or surgery, or perhaps overdosed. While while the patient is 0:10:55.559 --> 0:10:58.320 in the hospital with these kinds of issues, they might 0:10:58.360 --> 0:11:01.440 have a temporary pacemaker. UM. And of course the permanent ones, 0:11:01.480 --> 0:11:04.040 which is more what we've been talking about. I mean, 0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:06.839 they wouldn't implant a temporary one, right, Yeah. In fact, 0:11:07.400 --> 0:11:10.280 the earliest pacemakers are more like what you would see 0:11:10.280 --> 0:11:12.880 with a temporary pacemaker, I mean, far the temporary ones 0:11:12.880 --> 0:11:15.520 that we use now are far more sophisticated. Of course, 0:11:15.880 --> 0:11:19.439 orders of magnitude more sophisticated. But the ideas that you 0:11:19.440 --> 0:11:22.480 would have an external device that would be able, you know, 0:11:22.520 --> 0:11:26.320 anyone could monitor and also be able to like a 0:11:26.320 --> 0:11:29.520 medical professional would be able to disconnect it once that 0:11:29.640 --> 0:11:32.720 was a viable option, and wires would go into you, 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:36.600 which is kind of, you know, depending upon your level 0:11:36.600 --> 0:11:39.720 of comfort, a little squeaky, but I'm honestly pretty squeaked 0:11:39.720 --> 0:11:44.000 out by the entire wire through a vein thing. Yeah. Well, 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:46.080 just wait until we talk about the history of pacemakers, 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:48.520 because it's going to get really interesting. I'm glad you 0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:52.480 took that research. So, in the case of permanent pacemakers, 0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:56.560 batteries and generators usually have to be replaced every five 0:11:56.600 --> 0:11:59.319 to fifteen years, usually about six or seven. It's really 0:11:59.480 --> 0:12:02.440 the battery start running down, and they figure, while we're 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:05.280 performing surgery on you, we might as well change out 0:12:05.320 --> 0:12:07.120 the generator to make sure that it doesn't start running 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:09.160 down to right right, So that way, and it actually 0:12:09.200 --> 0:12:12.240 decreases the number of surgeries you would need over the lifetime. 0:12:12.360 --> 0:12:15.480 Over your lifetime, right sure, yeah, the lifetime of the product, 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:19.480 your lifetime, um and the wires may eventually need to 0:12:19.480 --> 0:12:22.200 be replaced as well, but that's that's more case to 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:25.920 case basis. Right now, we talked about in our Electronics 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:29.880 and f A a episode about electromagnetic interference and even 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:33.600 discussed a little bit about how people with pacemakers need 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:37.920 to be careful around devices that emit E m I, 0:12:38.120 --> 0:12:40.680 which is pretty much anything that's electrical, right right, And 0:12:40.679 --> 0:12:43.679 that's because, like any electrical signal, the impulse is sent 0:12:43.720 --> 0:12:48.680 by pacemaker can be disrupted by an electromagnetic field. Yeah. So, now, granted, 0:12:48.760 --> 0:12:53.000 in most cases, the instructions you get are pretty pretty 0:12:53.000 --> 0:12:56.439 common sense, and stuff like don't don't lay down and 0:12:56.480 --> 0:13:00.120 put a laptop computer or a cell phone or for 0:13:00.320 --> 0:13:02.400 your heart. Yeah you don't wanna, don't wanna have like 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:05.240 your cell phone in your shirt pocket for example, right right, 0:13:05.280 --> 0:13:09.360 You know, avoid brushing up next to strong household appliances, 0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:13.680 industrial welders. Don't lay directly against the microwave as you 0:13:13.720 --> 0:13:16.760 wait for that sweet sweet popcorn to be delivered to 0:13:16.800 --> 0:13:19.479 your hands. You know, keep keep it. Keep your generators. 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:22.880 You're you're larger than your heart generator generator at arms 0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:25.920 length that don't use jackhammers kind of that kind of 0:13:25.960 --> 0:13:30.400 I never do and everyone thanks me. Yeah, so's and 0:13:30.440 --> 0:13:32.480 you know, I mean, things like metal detectors are are 0:13:32.760 --> 0:13:35.800 fine if they're you know, I it's you're supposed to 0:13:35.800 --> 0:13:38.560 tell security agents like, hey, I've got this pacemaker thing, 0:13:38.600 --> 0:13:41.240 please kill me, and and they will know how to 0:13:41.320 --> 0:13:43.319 deal with that. Yeah. So it's it's certainly one of 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:45.400 those things that does mean, you know, you have to 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:48.760 take that into account in your lifestyle. Sure, but it's 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:55.400 also development that has, like we said, given a huge 0:13:55.480 --> 0:14:00.360 number of people a chance at a healthy life that 0:14:00.440 --> 0:14:03.920 otherwise they would not have. So it's it's phenomenal technology. 0:14:04.000 --> 0:14:08.360 We'll talk more about how we developed this technology over 0:14:08.520 --> 0:14:12.199 years and years of experimentation, some of which enters into 0:14:12.240 --> 0:14:16.840 the Frankenstein Mad Scientist realm. And I can't wait to 0:14:16.920 --> 0:14:20.200 talk about it. But before we do, let's take a 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:23.160 quick break to thank our sponsor. Now let's get back 0:14:23.440 --> 0:14:28.040 to talking about pacemakers. Now, in this particular episode, we 0:14:28.200 --> 0:14:31.520 kind of divided up the research of it, so Lauren 0:14:31.680 --> 0:14:34.640 ended up looking a lot at how the heart works 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:36.840 and how pacemakers tend to work. If you guys have 0:14:36.880 --> 0:14:38.560 ever listened to for thinking, you know that I am 0:14:38.600 --> 0:14:41.760 the medical correspondent. Yeah. Yeah, we we make her look 0:14:41.800 --> 0:14:43.440 at all the squeaky stuff so we don't have to 0:14:43.720 --> 0:14:48.200 because she likes squeaky stuff like um. Although slime, I 0:14:48.240 --> 0:14:52.240 would slime is really great, guys. Although I would I 0:14:52.280 --> 0:14:54.920 would argue glancing through your notes here for the history 0:14:54.960 --> 0:14:58.359 that you actually got the short end of the squick stage. 0:14:58.480 --> 0:15:00.920 You know what. This This is why never used the 0:15:00.920 --> 0:15:04.080 phrase quick stick. This is a This is entering into 0:15:04.120 --> 0:15:07.760 a realm that I actually relish, I because we're talking 0:15:07.760 --> 0:15:12.480 about a realm of scientific exploration that definitely goes on 0:15:12.520 --> 0:15:15.520 that mad scientist side of the scale. I mean, in 0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:18.080 that really cool kind of Victorian era. And this this 0:15:18.200 --> 0:15:20.360 is the same era where we saw things like Mary 0:15:20.360 --> 0:15:23.760 Shelley's Frankenstein be published, and so that's you know, and 0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:26.560 and some of the stuff that was being talked about 0:15:26.600 --> 0:15:29.640 and discovered at this time plays into the narrative of 0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:33.240 that story, although in a much more kind of literary 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:36.200 way and not a scientific way. But at any rate, 0:15:36.240 --> 0:15:40.320 this is when we had people really thinking about electricity 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:42.520 and its effect on the human body, and not just 0:15:42.560 --> 0:15:44.880 the human body as it turns out, So you really 0:15:44.880 --> 0:15:46.640 need to talk about the history of the pacemaker have 0:15:46.680 --> 0:15:49.960 to go all the way back to the mid seventeen hundreds. 0:15:50.760 --> 0:15:53.760 That's when it's when people started to experiment with what 0:15:53.800 --> 0:15:58.720 they called electro stimulation, using electricity to stimulate muscles. Uh. 0:15:58.840 --> 0:16:01.040 And in fact, by this time they were looking at 0:16:01.080 --> 0:16:05.920 cardiac electro stimulation, so again using electricity to stimulate the heart. 0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:08.480 This was all in animals at the time. Yeah, So 0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:12.000 they would find recently dead animals, or they would make 0:16:12.000 --> 0:16:15.280 an animal recently dead, and then they would use some 0:16:15.360 --> 0:16:20.800 form of electricity to use on electricity source to stimulate 0:16:21.200 --> 0:16:24.440 the animal's heart. Electric sources. Yeah, at the time, they 0:16:24.480 --> 0:16:29.200 had they had laden jars and voltaic piles peels Actually 0:16:29.200 --> 0:16:32.440 you should say voltaic peels. It's it's actually named uh 0:16:32.760 --> 0:16:37.600 it's yeah, so peel is French, but it's voltaic peels 0:16:37.760 --> 0:16:41.320 or piles if you prefer both of which we were. 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:46.400 I mean our batteries. They are viable batteries, but very dangerous, yeah, 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:50.400 and not particularly strong unless you make huge stacks. Right. 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:53.760 So these are predecessors to what we consider the modern battery. 0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:56.640 But that was when there was a lot of experimentation 0:16:56.680 --> 0:16:59.120 going on. So they would use them to stimulate the 0:16:59.120 --> 0:17:02.840 cardiac nerves and animals in an attempt to resuscitate intact 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:06.960 dead animals and thus, as my notes say, infect the 0:17:06.960 --> 0:17:10.960 world with chipmunk zombies. Uh. So, there was a fellow 0:17:11.000 --> 0:17:16.280 named Luigi Galvani who was credited with proposing electricity as 0:17:16.320 --> 0:17:19.399 the mechanism that causes our muscles to operate. Now here's 0:17:19.440 --> 0:17:24.080 the story. Uh, this is very possibly apocryphal, but the 0:17:24.080 --> 0:17:30.040 the story the legend that Galvani was working on on 0:17:30.359 --> 0:17:35.639 dissecting a little froggy and uh ended up building up 0:17:35.640 --> 0:17:40.000 an electrostatic charge and picked up a scalpel and touched 0:17:40.000 --> 0:17:43.240 the scalpel to the froggy and it discharged the electro 0:17:43.320 --> 0:17:46.240 static charge, which created the spark and made the froggy's 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:51.400 leg twitch. Thus, Galvanni began to think of electricity as 0:17:51.440 --> 0:17:54.359 being the means through which our muscles operate. He called 0:17:54.359 --> 0:17:57.600 it animal electricity, as opposed to what was being called 0:17:57.760 --> 0:18:02.520 heat electricity. So he's he thought that animal electricity was 0:18:02.600 --> 0:18:06.240 some sort of electricity trical type of fluid that would 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:08.919 make muscles move. Before then, it was this idea of 0:18:09.520 --> 0:18:11.960 laden jars were still based on the principle that electricity 0:18:12.000 --> 0:18:14.040 was a fluid isn't that correct? Yeah, yeah, so we're 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:16.399 you know, this is obviously this is the early days 0:18:16.600 --> 0:18:21.800 of learning about electricity. So uh. At any rate that 0:18:21.800 --> 0:18:25.400 that research led other people to start to tinker around. 0:18:26.080 --> 0:18:29.919 One of those was William Hawes h A W. E. S. 0:18:30.000 --> 0:18:33.640 He established a society in London called the Humane Society. 0:18:33.680 --> 0:18:35.560 But it's not the Humane Society the way we would 0:18:35.600 --> 0:18:36.879 think of it in the United States. You hear the 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:39.119 Humane Society and you think, oh, that's an animal rescue. 0:18:39.320 --> 0:18:42.239 It's not for adopting dogs and cats. Know, this was 0:18:42.600 --> 0:18:48.119 a a group that was dedicated to um well, salvaging 0:18:48.119 --> 0:18:50.400 people who appeared to be dead. This was a big 0:18:50.400 --> 0:18:53.919 concern at the time a lot of people. You know, 0:18:53.960 --> 0:18:57.200 we didn't really have the more precise scientific definitions and 0:18:57.440 --> 0:18:59.840 even today's debatable of of what is alive and what 0:18:59.920 --> 0:19:01.880 is dead, and we you know, we didn't have heart 0:19:01.960 --> 0:19:04.480 rate monitors. It was a morbid time, really, it's what 0:19:04.520 --> 0:19:06.479 it was. It was a lot harder to tell and 0:19:06.520 --> 0:19:09.840 so there was a huge fear of getting buried alive. Yeah. 0:19:09.960 --> 0:19:12.560 So there was also a similar society at the time 0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:19.680 in Paris. Paris, Uh, I assume Paris friends and not Paris, Texas. 0:19:19.920 --> 0:19:23.840 Eventually the organization would become the Royal Humane Society of London, 0:19:24.040 --> 0:19:28.400 and very early on during this society's days, scientists began 0:19:28.440 --> 0:19:31.240 to explore electro stimulation as a way of resuscitating people 0:19:31.280 --> 0:19:34.159 who appear to have died and maybe who are not 0:19:34.240 --> 0:19:38.760 actually dead but could be revived. So se A guy 0:19:38.840 --> 0:19:43.280 named Charles Kite writes uh paper titled an Essay upon 0:19:43.320 --> 0:19:46.639 the Recovery of the Apparently Dead, which is already my 0:19:46.720 --> 0:19:49.879 favorite title of a of a paper since uh, since 0:19:49.920 --> 0:19:54.960 more wrote Cramming more components on integrated circuits. Um, I love, 0:19:55.040 --> 0:19:57.280 I love, I love these titles. They're better. That's the 0:19:57.320 --> 0:19:59.720 best kind of research, really. So, according to the essay, 0:19:59.760 --> 0:20:03.359 Ki used electro stimulation to treat a three year old child. 0:20:04.160 --> 0:20:06.760 She had fallen out of a window and appeared to 0:20:06.800 --> 0:20:09.639 be dead. They had called in an apothecary, who was 0:20:09.760 --> 0:20:12.479 unable to do anything. Kite said that it was twenty 0:20:12.480 --> 0:20:15.399 minutes before he could arrive to provide some sort of 0:20:15.400 --> 0:20:19.800 electro stimulation to the child's heart. He used his He 0:20:19.880 --> 0:20:24.200 used essentially electrodes to to deliver a gentle electrical shock 0:20:24.440 --> 0:20:27.199 to various parts of the child's body eventually setting on 0:20:27.240 --> 0:20:31.000 the thorax or chest really to uh and found that 0:20:31.600 --> 0:20:33.879 he got a pulse when he did that, and claimed 0:20:33.880 --> 0:20:37.040 that the child woke up was very groggy and uh 0:20:37.080 --> 0:20:41.320 and and confused about her surroundings, but that she eventually 0:20:41.359 --> 0:20:44.560 made a full recovery. What that tells me is that 0:20:44.760 --> 0:20:49.000 this story is probably either exaggerated or there are some 0:20:49.080 --> 0:20:52.120 big missing components, Because being dead for twenty minutes is 0:20:52.520 --> 0:20:55.439 being dead is dead. You're not You're not You're not 0:20:55.440 --> 0:20:59.840 bouncing back from that really, But any rate, it could 0:20:59.840 --> 0:21:01.720 be that that no one at the house at the 0:21:01.720 --> 0:21:03.800 time could find a heartbeat, right, could have been that 0:21:03.880 --> 0:21:07.359 she had a very weak pulse interminute pulse. Even so, 0:21:07.480 --> 0:21:11.320 at any rate, that's the story. From seventy six, a 0:21:11.359 --> 0:21:14.000 couple of Danish scientists published a paper that was titled 0:21:14.359 --> 0:21:17.320 Life Saving Measures for drowning persons and Information of the 0:21:17.359 --> 0:21:19.840 best means by which they can be brought back to life, 0:21:20.280 --> 0:21:22.800 and that also included electro stimulation of the heart as 0:21:22.800 --> 0:21:25.840 a means of saving people. We're gonna jump ahead, so 0:21:26.000 --> 0:21:29.120 a lot of people researching this. In eighteen twenty, Dr 0:21:29.280 --> 0:21:34.040 de Sanctus in The Medical Guide described the reanimation chair. 0:21:34.720 --> 0:21:36.320 I didn't show you a picture of this yet, have 0:21:36.359 --> 0:21:42.240 I learned? You're gonna get a chance to see it 0:21:42.280 --> 0:21:46.040 on social as well. The chair included bellows which were 0:21:46.080 --> 0:21:48.800 meant to force air into the person's lungs, a metallic 0:21:48.880 --> 0:21:53.399 tube inserted into the person's esophagus, and a voltaic peel 0:21:53.720 --> 0:21:55.800 or pile, depending upon how you want to pronounce it, 0:21:55.840 --> 0:21:57.760 attached at one end of the metal tube and the 0:21:57.760 --> 0:21:59.760 other end was to an electrode. The electrode was then 0:21:59.800 --> 0:22:03.720 to quote regions of the heart, the diaphragm, and the 0:22:03.840 --> 0:22:07.199 stomach end quote to cause muscles to contract. If you 0:22:07.240 --> 0:22:10.040 look at this thing, or illustrations of this thing, I 0:22:10.080 --> 0:22:12.000 should say I haven't seen a picture of what I 0:22:12.040 --> 0:22:14.479 don't know if one was ever actually built, but the 0:22:14.520 --> 0:22:17.160 illustrations of what it was supposed to look like look 0:22:17.240 --> 0:22:19.639 like it came from Hostile or Saw or one of 0:22:19.680 --> 0:22:23.800 those movies. It is absolutely terrified to behold. It makes 0:22:23.800 --> 0:22:30.520 a dentist chair look absolutely comforting by by comparison, I 0:22:30.560 --> 0:22:34.720 look forward to it. Yeah, experiments with electro puncture, this 0:22:34.800 --> 0:22:36.920 is where we're really getting into the fun stuff. So 0:22:37.080 --> 0:22:41.760 that is that is combining electrical stimulation with acupuncture. So 0:22:41.800 --> 0:22:45.200 you've got a needle that you insert into the body 0:22:45.320 --> 0:22:48.280 of your your subject and then you shoot electricity through 0:22:48.280 --> 0:22:53.440 it to stimulate. Yeah, well animal, it was most animals, 0:22:53.960 --> 0:22:57.960