Wilson Greatbatch was an American engineer and pioneering inventor.
10 Facts About Wilson Greatbatch
1.
2.
Wilson Greatbatch entered military service and served during World War II, becoming an aviation chief radioman before receiving an honorable discharge in 1945.
3.
Wilson Greatbatch loved fiddling with objects and this would lead to great things.
4.
The Chardack-Wilson Greatbatch pacemaker used Mallory mercuric oxide-zinc cells for its energy source, driving a two transistor, transformer coupled blocking oscillator circuit, all encapsulated in epoxy resin, then coupled to electrodes placed into the myocardium of the patient's heart.
5.
Wilson Greatbatch sought to introduce this invention into the pacemaker industry, which could readily use a high impedance battery.
6.
Wilson Greatbatch introduced the developed WG1 cell to pacemaker developers in 1971, and was met with limited enthusiasm.
7.
The lithium-iodide cell manufactured by Wilson Greatbatch is the standard cell for pacemakers, having the energy density, low self-discharge, small size and reliability needed.
8.
Wilson Greatbatch donated funds to Houghton College in New York to create a graduate program in music.
9.
Wilson Greatbatch died at the age of 92 on September 27,2011.
10.
Wilson Greatbatch served as an elder at Clarence Presbyterian Church, where he sang in the church choir and taught Sunday school.