Health & Medicine

Iron Lung

The Museum's collections of medical science artifacts represent nearly all aspects of health and medical practice. Highlights include early X-ray apparatuses, such as one of Wilhelm Roentgen's tubes, penicillin mold from Alexander Fleming’s experiments, and Jonas Salk's original polio vaccine. More recent acquisitions include the first artificial heart implanted in a human, the earliest genetically engineered drugs, and materials related to David, the "Bubble Boy." Other artifacts range from artificial limbs and implant devices to bloodletting and dental instruments, beauty products, and veterinary equipment. The contents of a medieval apothecary shop and an 1890s drugstore form part of the collections, along with patent and alternative medicines. The collections also document the many differing perspectives on health and medical issues, from patients, family members, doctors, nurses, medical students, and out-of-the-mainstream health practitioners.

Date: 1960s

Crazy Foam - the Toy that Cleans - Duck

date made
1965
maker
Aerosol Corporation of America
ID Number
1993.0024.02
catalog number
1993.0024.02
accession number
1993.0024

Crazy Foam - the Toy that Cleans - Dog

date made
1965
maker
Aerosol Corporation of America
ID Number
1993.0024.09
catalog number
1993.0024.09
accession number
1993.0024

Carrel flask

Min Chueh Chang (1908–1991) used this Carrel flask in his laboratory at the Worchester Foundation for Experimental Biology.
Description (Brief)
Min Chueh Chang (1908–1991) used this Carrel flask in his laboratory at the Worchester Foundation for Experimental Biology. While Chang is perhaps best remembered for his role in the development of oral contraceptives in the early 1950s, he spent most of his career studying mammalian fertilization. His groundbreaking research with rabbits, hamsters, and other small mammals laid the foundation for the 1978 birth of the first human child conceived through in vitro fertilization.
In a 1959 paper detailing the procedure for rabbit in vitro fertilization, Chang described using Carrel flasks of 1.5 mL volume as the primary vessels for fertilization. Rabbit eggs and sperm united in the flask, placed on a gently rocking platform, and incubated for several hours. Eggs were then removed and transferred to a larger 8 mL Carrel flask and again incubated. These eggs were later removed and examined under a microscope to identify those which had been successfully fertilized, and had begun division and could therefore be implanted into recipient rabbit mothers.
From the 1920s through the 1950s biologists and medical researchers made a concerted effort to solve the problem of tissue culture—how to raise and maintain cells for scientific research. Part of the challenge was to create a home outside the body in which cells could survive.
Early methods of cell culture relied on the hanging-drop technique, in which tissue grew in a plasma clot suspended from a glass slide. The hanging-drop technique, however, posed several problems: cells in a clot were difficult to view under the microscope, cultures could not grow to a large size, and specimens were prone to contamination.
To address these issues, surgeon Alexis Carrel (1873–1944) of the Rockefeller Institute developed a new vessel for tissue culture, which came to bear his name. The Carrel flask featured an angled neck to prevent airborne particles from falling into the flask when it was open. Technicians could also sterilized the neck with a flame both before and after adding or removing nutrient broth.
The flask’s round flat base and in some cases, the use of thin, optically optimized glass facilitated the viewing of specimens under a microscope without removing them from their vessel.
Sources:
Carrel, Alexis. “Tissue Culture and Cell Physiology.” Physiological Reviews 4, no. 1 (1924): 1–20.
Chang, M. C. “Fertilization of Rabbit Ova in Vitro.” Nature 184, no. 4684 (1959): 466–67. doi:10.1038/184466a0.
Greep, Roy O. Min Chueh Chang 1908–1991. Washington D.C.: National Academies Press, 1995. http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/chang-m-c.pdf.
Landecker, Hannah. Culturing Life: How Cells Became Technologies. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2007.
National Museum of American History Accession File #1992.0555
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1950s-1960s
ID Number
1992.0555.050
catalog number
1992.0555.050
accession number
1992.0555

Crazy Foam - the Toy that Cleans - Dragon

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1965
maker
Aerosol Corporation of America
ID Number
1993.0024.03
catalog number
1993.0024.03
accession number
1993.0024

Crazy Foam - the Toy that Cleans - Native American

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965
maker
Aerosol Corporation of America
ID Number
1993.0024.12
catalog number
1993.0024.12
accession number
1993.0024

Crazy Foam - the Toy that Cleans - Elephant

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1965
maker
Aerosol Corporation of America
ID Number
1993.0024.04
catalog number
1993.0024.04
accession number
1993.0024

Vicks Nyquil

The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:Relief from nasal congestion, sniffles and sneezing, headache pain, the ache-all-over feeling, even coughing and minor sore throat painCurrently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:
Relief from nasal congestion, sniffles and sneezing, headache pain, the ache-all-over feeling, even coughing and minor sore throat pain
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1966
maker
Richardson-Merrell
ID Number
1989.0711.40
accession number
1989.0711
catalog number
1989.0711.40

Carrel flask

Min Chueh Chang (1908–1991) used this Carrel flask in his laboratory at the Worchester Foundation for Experimental Biology.
Description (Brief)
Min Chueh Chang (1908–1991) used this Carrel flask in his laboratory at the Worchester Foundation for Experimental Biology. While Chang is perhaps best remembered for his role in the development of oral contraceptives in the early 1950s, he spent most of his career studying mammalian fertilization. His groundbreaking research with rabbits, hamsters, and other small mammals laid the foundation for the 1978 birth of the first human child conceived through in vitro fertilization.
In a 1959 paper detailing the procedure for rabbit in vitro fertilization, Chang described using Carrel flasks of 1.5 mL volume as the primary vessels for fertilization. Rabbit eggs and sperm united in the flask, placed on a gently rocking platform, and incubated for several hours. Eggs were then removed and transferred to a larger 8 mL Carrel flask and again incubated. These eggs were later removed and examined under a microscope to identify those which had been successfully fertilized, and had begun division and could therefore be implanted into recipient rabbit mothers.
From the 1920s through the 1950s biologists and medical researchers made a concerted effort to solve the problem of tissue culture—how to raise and maintain cells for scientific research. Part of the challenge was to create a home outside the body in which cells could survive.
Early methods of cell culture relied on the hanging-drop technique, in which tissue grew in a plasma clot suspended from a glass slide. The hanging-drop technique, however, posed several problems: cells in a clot were difficult to view under the microscope, cultures could not grow to a large size, and specimens were prone to contamination.
To address these issues, surgeon Alexis Carrel (1873–1944) of the Rockefeller Institute developed a new vessel for tissue culture, which came to bear his name. The Carrel flask featured an angled neck to prevent airborne particles from falling into the flask when it was open. Technicians could also sterilized the neck with a flame both before and after adding or removing nutrient broth.
The flask’s round flat base and in some cases, the use of thin, optically optimized glass facilitated the viewing of specimens under a microscope without removing them from their vessel.
Sources:
Carrel, Alexis. “Tissue Culture and Cell Physiology.” Physiological Reviews 4, no. 1 (1924): 1–20.
Chang, M. C. “Fertilization of Rabbit Ova in Vitro.” Nature 184, no. 4684 (1959): 466–67. doi:10.1038/184466a0.
Greep, Roy O. Min Chueh Chang 1908–1991. Washington D.C.: National Academies Press, 1995. http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/chang-m-c.pdf.
Landecker, Hannah. Culturing Life: How Cells Became Technologies. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2007.
National Museum of American History Accession File #1992.0555
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1950s-1960s
ID Number
1992.0555.074
catalog number
1992.0555.074
accession number
1992.0555

African Sea Coconut

The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:An excellent cough mixture and lung tonic for coughs, bronchitis, influenza, colds, sore throat, asthma, tickling throat, whooping cough, catarrh, chronic cough, loss of voice, and spittingCurrently not on view
Description
The indications or uses for this product as provided on its packaging:
An excellent cough mixture and lung tonic for coughs, bronchitis, influenza, colds, sore throat, asthma, tickling throat, whooping cough, catarrh, chronic cough, loss of voice, and spitting
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1960
maker
L. F. Medicine Company
ID Number
1989.0711.01
accession number
1989.0711
catalog number
1989.0711.01

Fight TB - D.C. Lung Association and NTA (National Tuberculosis Association)

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1935 - 1968
maker
National Tuberculosis Association
ID Number
2012.0165.609
accession number
2012.0165
catalog number
2012.0165.609

Lemole-Cooley Mitral Heart Valve

This valve, designed by doctors Gerald Lemole and Denton Cooley, is one of the rarest concept designs for a heart valve. It is not circular like other artificial heart valves, but rather, oval shaped like the mitral valve itself. This artificial valve has a Dacron fabric ring.
Description
This valve, designed by doctors Gerald Lemole and Denton Cooley, is one of the rarest concept designs for a heart valve. It is not circular like other artificial heart valves, but rather, oval shaped like the mitral valve itself. This artificial valve has a Dacron fabric ring. It is the only valve the donor Manuel “Manny” Villafaña has seen that is not circular. But, for the valve to work well, it has to be big enough in size. The valve needs something to push the blood through, and this design would not work sufficiently. As a result, it was never implanted. The 'disc' has two prongs that have ball shapes at its ends.
Dr. Denton Cooley’s (b. 1920) career parallels the evolution of heart surgery beginning in the 1940s and 1950s. He was an intern for Dr. Alfred Blalock (1899-1964) and Dr. Helen Taussig (1898-1986), the first doctors to surgically correct malformations of the heart by reconstructing the valves (Blalock-Taussig Operation.) Dr. Cooley considered this breakthrough, "the dawn of heart surgery." He received training at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1944 and started a practice at Baylor College in Houston, TX. He led the team which implanted the first artificial heart in a human in 1969.
Dr. Gerald Lemole, MD (b. 1937) trained in Houston with Dr. Michael DeBakey and Dr. Denton Cooley. In 1968, he was on the team that carried out the first successful heart transplant in the United States. Lemole is also known to play rock music in the operating room. In 1991, he traveled to Beijing, China, to train surgeons in open-heart surgery and give lectures. He served as chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Temple University Hospital and chief of cardiovascular surgery at Medical Center of Delaware, Christiana Hospital.
The manufacturer, Surgitool Inc., was founded by Harry Cromie and Dr. George Magovern creators of the sutureless Magovern-Cromie Valve.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1965
maker
Surgitool, Inc.
ID Number
2015.0031.43
catalog number
2015.0031.43
accession number
2015.0031

Muller-Littlefield 32mm Aortic Valve

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1960
ID Number
2015.0031.14
catalog number
2015.0031.14
accession number
2015.0031

Hufnagel Tri-Leaflet Aortic Heart Valve

This trileaflet valve which looks similar to a natural human heart valve was developed by Charles Hufnagel, MD. It is coated in hepacone, silicone rubber impregnated with heparin, and is a size 5 with a diameter of 33mm.
Description (Brief)
This trileaflet valve which looks similar to a natural human heart valve was developed by Charles Hufnagel, MD. It is coated in hepacone, silicone rubber impregnated with heparin, and is a size 5 with a diameter of 33mm. Hufnagel believed the trileaflet design would prove to be superior to the ball and cage heart valve because it provided better dynamics. The base of the valve was designed to fit the shape of the aorta when implanted. The leaflets or cusps were made of polypropylene and coated with silicone rubber at high pressure. A 1975 study of patients who had received this prostheses determined that the Hufnagel trileaflet valve was not durable enough to withstand constant blood flow. In a majority of cases, patients died due to prosthetic degeneration or thrombosis. Other problems included aortic regurgitation and stenosis. The Hufnagel tri-leaflet valve was distributed by Codman and Shurtleff, Inc. of Randolph, Massachusetts and manufactured by Heyer-Schulte Corporation.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1967
distributor
Codman & Shurtleff, Inc.
ID Number
2015.0031.11
catalog number
2015.0031.11
accession number
2015.0031
serial number
850

Aortic Prosthesis Display

This blue cardboard display of 3, Gerbode-Seager tri-leaflet valves has a yellow label with black print which reads "EARLY AORTIC PROSTHESES". Handwritten beneath it reads "HISTORY ON BACK". The valves are attached to the board with sewing string.
Description (Brief)
This blue cardboard display of 3, Gerbode-Seager tri-leaflet valves has a yellow label with black print which reads "EARLY AORTIC PROSTHESES". Handwritten beneath it reads "HISTORY ON BACK". The valves are attached to the board with sewing string. From left to right: Silastic Cusps re-enforced with Dacron Mesh, Gold-coated cusps, and Silastic cusps. On the back is handwritten information about the valve and the doctor who used them.
"used by Dr. Frank Gerbode / in San Francisco / Dr. O'Brien (?) worked with Dr. Gerbode / at his --- in 1963 / on this valve. / Gold plated / thromboemboli occurred / + valve had to be / clinically ceased."
Another label reads, "Approx 20 used at Presbyterian Med. Center San Francisco. Most had trhombo-embolytic complications. There are two pin holes on either side of the display indicating at one time it hung for viewing.
Dr. Frank Gerbode (1907-1984) a native Californian took his undergraduate degree from Stanford University, and received his medical degree from Stanford Medical School. He founded the Medical Research Institute and Heart Research Institute at Presbyterian Hospital-Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco. He performed the first successful open heart surgery on the west coast in 1954 at what was then Presbyterian Hospital. He was the head of the Heart Research division at the Research Institute until his death in 1984. See also Gerbode's Modified Buford Rib Spreader accession 1994.0365.01.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1963
ID Number
2015.0031.58
catalog number
2015.0031.58
accession number
2015.0031

Kennedy Medicare Promise Commemorative Medal

This bronze medal was part of a 36-medal set produced by the Lincoln Mint company in 1971 to commemorate the legacy of John F. Kennedy. Production of the set began in January of 1971, the 10th anniversary of Kennedy’s inauguration.
Description
This bronze medal was part of a 36-medal set produced by the Lincoln Mint company in 1971 to commemorate the legacy of John F. Kennedy. Production of the set began in January of 1971, the 10th anniversary of Kennedy’s inauguration. The Lincoln Mint sold these medals as a subscription; the customer would receive one medal a month for 36 months, each medal commemorating a different event in the life and legacy of John F. Kennedy. The set also came with a collector’s album to hold the medals and—as a special gift—a tape player and a cassette containing major excerpts from J. F. K.'s most famous speeches. The series could be purchased in pure (.999) silver for $10.00 a month or solid bronze for $5.00 a month. The silver series was limited to 5,000 subscribers and the bronze to 10,000 subscribers.
This medal was the 24th in the series and commemorated Kennedy’s "Medicare Promise," his attempt to enact legislation that would provide comprehensive affordable medical care for the elderly. The obverse has an image of an elderly male and female face and Kennedy leaning down to comfort an elderly person in a wheelchair. The reverse has an image of the Staff of Asclepius, the ancient symbol of the medical profession. The reverse reads "THE LEGACY OF JOHN F. KENNEDY/In spite of JFK's efforts to provide health care for the aged, Medicare was not enacted until a year and a half after his death/ January 20, 1961-July 30, 1965." January 20th, 1961 was Kennedy’s inauguration date and July 30th, 1965 was the date Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Medicare bill into law. A small cursive "LM" for Lincoln Mint is at the bottom of the medal, and the rim is stamped number 122 which designated the subscriber's number.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1965
ID Number
2013.0265.01
accession number
2013.0265
catalog number
2013.0265.01

Adrucil (fluorouracil injection, USP) 500 mg

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1997
FDA approval (initial approval for fluorouracil injection)
1962
maker
Pharmacia
ID Number
2019.0108.18
accession number
2019.0108
catalog number
2019.0108.18

Hufnagel Leaflet Valve

This single heart leaflet or cusp was used to replace or supplement a compromised natural leaflet. One, two or three leaflets could be surgically implanted. The leaflets were made of polypropylene mesh and impregnated with silicone rubber. Charles A.
Description (Brief)
This single heart leaflet or cusp was used to replace or supplement a compromised natural leaflet. One, two or three leaflets could be surgically implanted. The leaflets were made of polypropylene mesh and impregnated with silicone rubber. Charles A. Hufnagel, MD, the inventor believed polypropylene leaflets would be a better design solution than the ball and cage model because it provided better dynamics. He acknowledged that only a few of these leaflets worked well, "those leaflets were the only leaflets, I think, that really lasted for any significant length of time." The single leaflets were later used to develop a trileaflet valve which looked similar to a natural human valve.
Dr. Charles Hufnagel, (1916-1989) graduated in 1941 from Harvard Medical School. While a resident at Boston’ Children’s Hospital he worked with pioneer cardiac surgeon Dr. Robert Gross. In 1950 he left the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston to becoame the Director of Georgetown University Medical Research laboratory. In September 1952, he implanted the first artificial heart valve which consisted of a ball of plastic inside a chambered tube. Hufnagel also made significant contributions to the development of the modern heart-lung machine.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1960
maker
Brunswick Manufacturing Company
ID Number
2015.0031.07
catalog number
2015.0031.07
accession number
2015.0031

Beall Surgitool Mitral Valve

This 34.2mm Beall Surgitool Mitral Valve is a free floating titanium disk held in place by two struts. The titanium base is covered in Dacron velour. The Beall mitral valve was developed by Dr. Arthur C. Beall, Jr. (1929-2002) around 1960.
Description (Brief)
This 34.2mm Beall Surgitool Mitral Valve is a free floating titanium disk held in place by two struts. The titanium base is covered in Dacron velour. The Beall mitral valve was developed by Dr. Arthur C. Beall, Jr. (1929-2002) around 1960. Beall received his medical degree in 1953 from Emory University, and did his residency at Baylor from 1954-1959 under Dr. Michael DeBakey. Beall was inducted into the Michael E. DeBakey Legacy of Leadership honoree.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1967
maker
Travenol Laboratories Inc.
ID Number
2007.0106.11
model number
5M5011
serial number
BS 8099
catalog number
2007.0106.11
accession number
2007.0106

Cross-Jones Mitral Valve

This is a Cross-Jones non-tilting disc mitral valve developed by Dr. Frederick Cross, MD. It is a size 90 with a lens weight of 2.6463 grams and serial number H-0021-9.
Description (Brief)
This is a Cross-Jones non-tilting disc mitral valve developed by Dr. Frederick Cross, MD. It is a size 90 with a lens weight of 2.6463 grams and serial number H-0021-9. Non-tilting valves fell into disuse because of issues such as frequent thromboembolic complications, and the destruction of blood cells known as hemolysis. The Cross-Jones valve was manufactured between 1967 and 1974. It has an open cage composed of three metal struts. The disc is radiolucent silicone rubber with a titanium ring to strengthen the disc and make it radiopaque. Other complications included cocking of the disc, retrograde dislodgement, and disc variance.
The valve was manufactured by Pemco Incorporated and designed by Dr. Frederick Cross of Saint Luke's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1956 Cross collaborated with Dr. Earle Kay to build the Kay-Cross oxygenator rotating-disc heart-lung machine. He was director of department of surgery at St. Luke's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio for more than twenty-six years, and head of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery for thirty-three. He retired in 1988.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1967
maker
Pemco Incorporated
ID Number
2015.0031.40
catalog number
2015.0031.40
accession number
2015.0031
serial number
H-0021-9

Bjork-Shiley Heart Valve

Bjork-Shiley artificial heart valves are disc valves with a low profile, high orifice-to-tissue ratios, low embolic rates, and good hemodynamics. The minor orifice would often clog up because of its small opening.
Description
Bjork-Shiley artificial heart valves are disc valves with a low profile, high orifice-to-tissue ratios, low embolic rates, and good hemodynamics. The minor orifice would often clog up because of its small opening. These earlier models have a disc made with Delrin polymer, which was later found to be an unsuitable material as it absorbs water and would break down easily. The Delrin was replaced with the more durable pyrolyte. The flat disc valve, when made with pyrolyte, was very successful. There were close to 300,000 implants of Bjork-Shiley valves between 1969 and 1986.
Dr. Viking Bjork (1918-2009), chairman of the Department of Surgery at Karaolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, collaborated with Donald Shiley (1920-2010), a biomedical engineer in California, to develop this tilting disc valve. Shiley graduated from the University of Portland in 1951 and was involved in the design of the Starr-Edwards valve. He founded Shiley Laboratories, Inc., the company which manufactured this valve. Shiley Lab. was bought by Pfizer in 1979.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1969
maker
Shiley Incorporated
ID Number
2015.0031.27.02
catalog number
2015.0031.27.02
accession number
2015.0031

Taber-Cutter Heart Valve

The Taber-Cutter non-tilting disc valve has a silastic disc and four titanium struts and cage. It is 37.6mm in diameter. It's serial number is 049M.
Description
The Taber-Cutter non-tilting disc valve has a silastic disc and four titanium struts and cage. It is 37.6mm in diameter. It's serial number is 049M. The frame is made of titanium, a single piece to avoid weld marks, and takes an open strut design (to lower the incidence of thrombosis). The sewing ring is made of Teflon and Dacron. The valve remains sealed in a plastic bag. The valve design adopts principles of the Smeloff-Cutter prosthesis by using a full-orifice. The largest size valve that was compatible with the tissue would be used to minimize ventricular obstruction. The valve was tested in calves and dogs and results show that the valve may be advantageous for those with stenosis of the mitral valve. In 1970 the valve had been undergoing accelerated wear testing that equaled 2.5 years of clinical implantation. There was minimal wear and no evidence of cocking.
Dr. Rodman E. Taber completed medical school at the University of Iowa and afterwards served as a captain aboard a hospital ship in the Pacific during World War II. Following residency in thoracic and vascular surgery, he built a prototype heart lung machine, developed techniques used in freeze drying grafts used in vascular surgery and was instrumental in artificial heart valve design. He served as President of the Michigan Society of Thoracic Surgery.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1968
maker
Cutter Laboratories, Inc.
ID Number
2015.0031.48
catalog number
2015.0031.48
accession number
2015.0031
serial number
049M

Gott-Daggett Heart Valve

The Gott-Daggett heart valve is a hinged bileaflet prosthesis developed by Dr. Vincent Gott, MD of Johns Hopkins University and Dr. Ronald Daggett, PhD. It has a central cross strut and prongs projecting inwards from base ring.
Description
The Gott-Daggett heart valve is a hinged bileaflet prosthesis developed by Dr. Vincent Gott, MD of Johns Hopkins University and Dr. Ronald Daggett, PhD. It has a central cross strut and prongs projecting inwards from base ring. Also called "butterfly valve," it was to be used for both mitral and aortic replacement. It has a very low profile and was first used in August 1964. It is made of polycarbonate plastic impregnated with colloidal graphite. The suture ring is made of Styrofoam, and the leaflet is heavy Teflon mesh impregnated with silicone rubber, or Dacron reinforced silicone rubber. The valve was manufactured by Daggett. Some problems included thromboembolism and hemolysis. Clotting did occur, but extended survival with this prosthesis has been reported.
Dr. Vincent Gott, MD (b. 1926) received his medical degree from Yale University. He then interned at the University of Minnesota Hospital in 1954 with Dr. C. Walton Lillehei.
While a research fellow in Lillehei’s laboratory (1956- 1957) he helped to develop the first practical pacemaker, and observed Lillehei's first cross-circulation case.
Gott trained with Christiaan Barnard of Cape Town and stopped operating at 67 years of age, after having been professor and surgeon at Johns Hopkins. Ronald Daggett (1916-2004) was a professor of Plastic Engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
In an interview donor Manuel “Manny” Villafaña said "he used principles that were totally against everything we knew about valves. He used plastic, not metal. He took the plastic and he painted it with a brush and paint, black paint made out of carbon. He painted every surface 'cause carbon is less thrombogenic than metal...everything you know about valves is contrary to this one. Then the most amazing thing is that they implanted 432 of these and some of them lasted 25 years."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1964
maker
Daggett, Dr. Ronald L.
Gott, Dr. Vincent L.
ID Number
2015.0031.42
catalog number
2015.0031.42
accession number
2015.0031

April 2, 1962 Newsweek Magazine Issue

The April 2, 1962 issue of Newsweek magazine featured the cover story "Medicare: Who Should Pay the Bill?" In the early 1960s approximately 35 percent of seniors could not afford or were not eligible for health insurance. President John F.
Description
The April 2, 1962 issue of Newsweek magazine featured the cover story "Medicare: Who Should Pay the Bill?" In the early 1960s approximately 35 percent of seniors could not afford or were not eligible for health insurance. President John F. Kennedy pushed for a federal solution to the issue, presenting the public with his plan for Medicare in a speech given at Madison Square Garden May 20, 1962. This Newsweek article addressed a pivotal question about the Medicare legislation— who would pay for the financial burden the Medicare system would bring with it? The medical profession staunchly opposed any new federal legislation that would impact the insurance industry, but after Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, Lyndon B. Johnson passed many of Kennedy’s reforms in his "Great Society" legislation. President Johnson signed Medicare into law July 30th, 1965.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1962
ID Number
2014.3002.01
nonaccession number
2014.3002
catalog number
2014.3002.01

Surgitool Sutureless Prosthetic Heart Valves Set

This stainless steel case contains a set of Magovern-Cromie Sutureless valves. They range from 19 to 20 centimeters long. Each holds a different size valve and poppet (ball), and are numbered 2 through 7. The inserters are used to implant the valve.
Description (Brief)
This stainless steel case contains a set of Magovern-Cromie Sutureless valves. They range from 19 to 20 centimeters long. Each holds a different size valve and poppet (ball), and are numbered 2 through 7. The inserters are used to implant the valve. Once inserted into place the surgeon rotated the handle so that the pins attach themselves to the aorta. The device is then removed and the ball or poppet is placed into the cage.
The Magovern-Cromie valve utilizes an open cage and titanium struts. Later versions used a Dacron sewing ring and silicone rubber poppet with barium sulphate. It often took at least an hour for surgeons to sew a new valve into the heart, which raised the risk of irreparable heart damage and patient death. This inspired Magovern to design something that would save time and patient's lives. He and Cromie collaborated in the latter's suburban Pittsburgh basement to develop a valve that would clamp into place with small teeth. They developed a claw like fixation device that did not require any sewing. The ring has twenty-four upper and twenty-four lower sets of small, curved, pointed metal teeth or hooks. These hooks allowed for rapid fixation when time was critical. Production of these valves ceased in 1980. With sutureless valves, there was an increased risk of leaking and postoperative thromboembolism.
The Magovern-Cromie valve is an example of how several redesigns were needed to eliminate structural flaws and create a viable valve. The original Magovern-Cromie valves were all metal. Gradually over a period of years several changes were adapted. A silastic cuff was added to prevent blood regurgitation. Teflon and later Dacron was used, and the poppet was impregnated with barium sulfate.
Newspaper stories recorded an instance of a Magovern-Cromie Sutureless valve being replaced in a patient after twenty-four years of service.
Dr. George Magovern (1924-2013) was a cardiac surgeon at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Machinist/engineer Harry Cromie eventually founded Surgitool Incorporated around 1969. Surgitool became one of the leading manufacturers of heart valves in the United States.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1969
maker
Surgitool, Inc.
ID Number
2015.0031.57
catalog number
2015.0031.57
accession number
2015.0031

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