Vol 17, No 1 (2010)
History of Cardiology
Published online: 2010-01-26
Derivation of the correct waveform of the human electrocardiogram by Willem Einthoven, 1890-1895
Cardiol J 2010;17(1):109-113.
Abstract
In the period 1890 to 1895, Willem Einthoven greatly improved the quality of tracings that
could be directly obtained with the capillary electrometer. He then introduced an ingenious
correction for the poor frequency response of these instruments, using differential equations.
This method allowed him to predict the correct form of the human electrocardiogram, as
subsequently revealed by the new string galvanometer that he introduced in 1902. For
Einthoven, who won the Nobel Prize for the development of the electrocardiogram in 1924, one
of the most rewarding aspects of the high fidelity recording of the human electrocardiogram
was its validation of his earlier theoretical predictions regarding the electrical activity of the
heart.
(Cardiol J 2010; 17, 1: 109-113)
(Cardiol J 2010; 17, 1: 109-113)
Keywords: capillary electrometerstring galvanometerelectrocardiogram