Nordic Life Science 1
was awarded jointly to John B. Goodenough, M. Sta
nley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino “for the development of lithium-ion batteries.” Their lightweight, rechargeable and powerful battery is used in mobile phones, laptops and electric vehicles, and it can store significant amounts of energy from solar and wind power. Lithium-ion batteries have also paved the way for pacemakers, one of the medtech industry’s greatest innovations. The development of the lithium-ion battery began during the oil crisis in the 1970s, when methods that could lead to fossil fuel-free energy technologies were developed, describe the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Whittingham discovered an extremely energy-rich material and he created a cathode in a lithium battery. The cathode was made from titanium, disulfide which at a molecular level has spaces that can house (intercalate) lithium ions. The battery’s anode was made from metallic lithium, which has a strong drive to release electrons. His battery had great potential but the drawback was that lithium is reactive and this made it too explosive. Goodenough then demonstrated in 1980 that cobalt oxide with intercalated lithium ions could produce as much as four volts, resulting in much more powerful batteries. Then Yoshino created the first commercially viable lithiumion battery in 1985. He used petroleum coke, a carbon material that can intercalate lithium-ions. A lightweight hardwearing battery that could be charged hundreds of times before it deteriorates was born, described the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in their press release about the Nobel announcement. The pacemaker has saved millions of lives and its history is a fascinating one, and it also includes several scientists, engineers and clinicians, all around the world. Already in the 1800s it was discovered that the heart possesses electrical activity, but it was not until 1932 that the first device, an artificial pacemaker, was built (by the American physiologist Albert Hyman). His pacemaker was only tested in animals and at that time artificial heart stimulation was a controversial subject. The first cardiac pacemaker was invented in 1952 by Paul Zoll, among others. It had the size of a small cathode ray tube television. When smaller batteries and more reliable transistors were developed the device became smaller in size and at the end of the 1950s it could be worn around the neck. Another hurdle along the way to developing the pacemaker was how to prevent water in the body affecting the pacemaker’s electronics. This problem was solved by using hermetically sealed titanium cases. Other scientists, engineers and clinicians who have contributed to the development of the pacemaker include Mark Lidwell, Wilfred Bigelow, John Callaghan, John Hopps, Aubrey Leatham, Geoffrey Davies, Earl Bakken, C. Walton Lillehei, and many more. The first fully implantable cardiac pacemaker was actually developed and inserted for the first time in a patient in Sweden. It was invented by physician and engineer Rune Elmqvist together with surgeon Åke Senning, and was inserted into the first patient, Arne Larsson, in 1958. Larsson was suffering from heart rhythm disturbances called Strokes-Adams syndrome. His symptoms made him faint up to 20 to 30 times a day. On October 8th 1958 he became world famous when he became the first person in the world to have a pacemaker operated into his body. The pacemaker had the same size as a matchbox. Time was short for Arne Larsson and Rune Elmqvist had to mold the components of his device in a simple plastic cup with synthetic resin, according to the Siemens Healthineers MedMuseum. It was a successful operation, but after only three hours the pacemaker stopped. Another copy of the device was operated in the next morning and this second one lasted for weeks. All in all, Arne Larsson had 26 different pacemakers in his body over the 43 years following the first implantation. He died in 2001, aged 86, not from his heart problem or his pacemaker but from other causes. The pacemaker had given Arne Larsson quality of life, like the ability to swim and ride a bicycle, and he could work and travel by plane. Today over three million people have a pacemaker. Rune Elmqvist is adjusting a galvanometer at the University of Lund © HÅKAN ELMQVIST