Hufnagel Plastic Intracardiac Valve

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Description (Brief):

This is an early prototype of an artificial heart valve developed by pioneering heart surgeon Dr. Charles Hufnagel (1916-1989). In 1952 he and his team at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., invented and implanted the first successful artificial heart valve.

Description (Brief)

Hufnagel’s team experimented with various designs and materials. They settled on the ball prosthesis fashioned out of polymethylmethacrylate, a hard, clear plastic more popularly known by the trade name of Plexiglas or Lucite.

Date Made: 1940s-1950s

Maker: Hufnagel, Charles A.

Location: Currently not on view

Subject: MedicineCardiologyProsthesis

Subject:

See more items in: Medicine and Science: Medicine, Artificial Heart Valves, Health & Medicine

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Related Publication: Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation. Journal of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, Vol 11

Credit Line: Charles A. Hufnagel, M.D.

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: MG.M-11582.02Accession Number: 267860Catalog Number: M-11582.02

Object Name: cardiologyheart valve, prostheticartificial heart valve

Physical Description: plexiglas (overall material)Measurements: overall: 2 1/2 in x 1 1/2 in; 6.35 cm x 3.81 cm

Metadata Usage: CC0

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ae-187d-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1196367

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