Accession No
4102
Brief Description
vibrating bar for an electrocardiograph (ECG), by Cambridge Instrument Company Ltd., English, 1934
Origin
England; Cambridge
Maker
Cambridge Instrument Company Ltd.
Class
medical
Earliest Date
1934
Latest Date
1934
Inscription Date
Material
metal (cast iron, brass, at least 2 others); plastic (at least 2 types)
Dimensions
length 355mm; breadth 65mm; height 90mm
Special Collection
Cambridge Instrument Company Collection
Provenance
Donated by the Cambridge Instrument Company.
Inscription
‘Cambridge Instrument Co. Ltd.,
England
[CIC logo]
C185301’
Description Notes
Black-painted cast iron base bar, supporting white metal vibrating bar (very corroded). The bar carries a weight at one end. Near the other end it is attached to three brass strips, which make a connection with a brass screw on the base bar. Near the far end an electromagnet is set over the vibrating bar, and two leads run from this to a pair of brass terminals on the base bar, marked ‘time marker’; third terminal marked ‘battery’. Hook at one end of the base bar for suspension.
Condition fair (vibrating bar very corroded); complete.
References
Events
Description
By the early 1920s, the Cambridge Standard Electrocardiograph had become an established clinicial tool; however, demands on the use of the machine forced designers to modify the instrument. There were three problems in particular: the instrument was sensitive to vibrations (though this was later disproven), considerable skill and training was required for the successful operation of the machine, and lastly, the instrument was extremely heavy. In order create a more mobile apparatus for use in hospital wards, a trolley-mounted version of the Standard was developed. The instrument’s success as a diagnostic tool eventually led to the re-design of electrocardiograph as a portable instrument that could be carried by a medical practitioner. This is a vibrating bar for an electrocardiograph.
08/07/2014
Created by: Allison Ksiazkiewicz on 08/07/2014
FM:44277
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