Derivation of the correct waveform of the human electrocardiogram by Willem Einthoven, 1890-1895

Paul Kligfield

Vol 17, No 1 (2010)

History of Cardiology

Published online: 2010-01-26

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Derivation of the correct waveform of the human electrocardiogram by Willem Einthoven, 1890-1895

Paul Kligfield

Cardiol J 2010;17(1):109-113.

Vol 17, No 1 (2010)

History of Cardiology

Published online: 2010-01-26

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)