String galvanometer, Prof. Willem Einthoven, University of Leiden, ca. 1910
Inv V09171

Cardiac arrhythmias had been known to medicine for centuries and regarded as the cause of a number of diseases.At the end of the nineteenth century it was discovered that the electrical stimulus conduction in the heart muscle also played a major part in the development of a cardiac arrhythmia. It was not until 1910 that a way was found of actually mapping this stimulus conduction. This was done with the aid of the first electrocardiograph, developed by the Leiden professor Einthoven. The first apparatus was so large that it could not be placed next to the patient's bed. Hence a connection was made between patient and machine with the help of the telephone line. Consequently the result obtained with this installation was called a tele-electrocardiogram.