Pacemaker, created in Minnesota, marks 50th birthday

Article by: Tim Harlow , Star Tribune
Updated: October 31, 2007 - 12:37 PM

Happy Birthday to the pacemaker, which turns 50 years old today.

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Happy Birthday to the pacemaker, which turns 50 years old today.

A power failure on Oct. 31, 1957 that stretched from St. Cloud to Faribault, Minn. and eastward to Eau Claire, Wis. led to a conversation between University of Minnesota Medical School surgeon Dr. C. Walton Lillehei and Earl Bakken, the founder of Medtronic.

Lillehei asked Bakken to develop a battery back-up for his AC-operated pacemakers.

It took a few weeks, but Bakken created the first wearable, battery-operated external pacemaker. Following tests in University of Minnesota labs, the device was applied to a pediatric heart patient.

Each year, about 300,000 Americans and 900,000 people worldwide receive pacemakers. Since 1962, Medtronic has supplied patients with more than 6 million pacemakers.

Tim Harlow • harlow@startribune.com