Pacemaker with a “Medtronic / 5951 PULSE GENERATOR / VENTRICULAR INHIBITED / SN 4Y00398 USA” inscription. The Xytron pacemaker, of which this is an example, contained a mercury zinc battery. It was introduced to market in early 1975, and intended as an interim product while Medtronic prepared its new lithium powered pacemaker.
Ref: Kirk Jeffrey, Machines in our Hearts: The Cardiac Pacemaker, The Implantable Defibrillator, And American Health Care (Baltimore, 2001).
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