Willem Einthoven (21 May 1860 – 29 September 1927) was a

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doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

and physiologist. He invented the first practical electrocardiograph (ECG or EKG) in 1895 and received the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...

in 1924 for it ("for the discovery of the mechanism of the electrocardiogram"). original URL now redirects to https://ethw.org/Willem_Einthoven

Background

Willem Einthoven was born in Semarang on

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

in the Dutch East Indies (now

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

), the son of Louise Marie Mathilde Caroline de Vogel and Jacob Einthoven. His father, a doctor, died when Willem was a child. His mother returned to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

with her children in 1870 and settled in Utrecht. His father was of Jewish and

descent, and his mother's ancestry was Dutch and Swiss. In 1885, Einthoven received a medical degree from the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

. He became a professor at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

in 1886. He married his first cousin Frédérique Jeanne Louise de Vogel (7 September 1861 31 January 1937) and supported her brother

Willem Willem () is a Dutch and West FrisianRienk de Haan, ''Fryske Foarnammen'', Leeuwarden, 2002 (Friese Pers Boekerij), , p. 158. masculine given name. The name is Germanic, and can be seen as the Dutch equivalent of the name William in English, ...

through school at Leiden. In 1902, he became a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. He died in

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...

in the

and is buried in the graveyard of the Reformed "Green Church" () at 6 Haarlemmerstraatweg in Oegstgeest. It is encouraged to visit his grave and pay respects.

Work

Before Einthoven's time, it was known that the beating of the heart produced electrical currents, but the instruments of the time could not accurately measure this phenomenon without placing electrodes directly on the heart. Beginning in 1901, Einthoven completed a series of prototypes of a string galvanometer. This device used a very thin filament of conductive wire passing between very strong

electromagnet An electromagnet is a type of magnet in which the magnetic field is produced by an electric current. Electromagnets usually consist of wire wound into a coil. A current through the wire creates a magnetic field which is concentrated in ...

s. When a current passed through the filament, the magnetic field created by the current would cause the string to move. A light shining on the string would cast a shadow on a moving roll of photographic paper, thus forming a continuous curve showing the movement of the string. The original machine required water cooling for the powerful electromagnets, required five people to operate it and weighed some 270 kilograms. This device increased the sensitivity of the standard

galvanometer A galvanometer is an electromechanical measuring instrument for electric current. Early galvanometers were uncalibrated, but improved versions, called ammeters, were calibrated and could measure the flow of current more precisely. A galvan ...

so that the electrical activity of the heart could be measured despite the insulation of flesh and bones. This invention allowed transthoracic electrocardiography. Willem Einthoven ECG

Although later technological advances brought about better and more portable EKG devices, much of the terminology used in describing an EKG originated with Einthoven. His assignment of the letters P, Q, R, S and T to the various deflections are still used. The term Einthoven's triangle is named after him. It refers to the imaginary inverted

equilateral triangle In geometry, an equilateral triangle is a triangle in which all three sides have the same length. In the familiar Euclidean geometry, an equilateral triangle is also equiangular; that is, all three internal angles are also congruent to each oth ...

centered on the chest and the points being the standard leads on the arms and leg. After his development of the string galvanometer, Einthoven went on to describe the electrocardiographic features of a number of

cardiovascular disorders Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

. Later in life, Einthoven turned his attention to the study of acoustics, particularly heart sounds which he researched with Dr. P. Battaerd. In 1924, Einthoven was awarded the

for inventing the first practical system of electrocardiography used in medical diagnosis.

Legacy

On 21 May 2019, on Einthoven's 159th birthday, he was honored with a

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References

External links

*
Willem Einthoven’s 159th Birthday
– Google Doodle {{DEFAULTSORT:Einthoven, Willem 1860 births 1927 deaths Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine Dutch people of Jewish descent Dutch people of Swiss descent Dutch physiologists 19th-century Dutch inventors Dutch Nobel laureates Electrophysiologists Indonesian Nobel laureates Utrecht University alumni Foreign Members of the Royal Society Academic staff of Leiden University Medical educators Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Semarang Burials in South Holland

Background

Work

Legacy

References

Further reading

External links