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Memorial Tributes Volume 18 (2014) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 112-117

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From page 113...
... W I L S O N G R E AT B AT C H 1919–2011 Elected in 1988 "For the invention and relentless improvement of the life-saving implantable cardiac pacemaker and the long-life lithium-iodine battery." BY CURT HOLMES SUBMITTED BY THE NAE HOME SECRETARY WILSON GREATBATCH, inventor of the first implantable cardiac pacemaker and holder of more than 325 patents, passed away on September 27, 2011, at the age of 92 in his home in Williamsville, New York. In addition to the pacemaker, his prolific career of invention included the creation of a longlife lithium battery used in medical implantation devices, contributions to AIDS research, alternative fuel experiments, and a solar-powered canoe.
From page 114...
... 114 MEMORIAL TRIBUTES He was an active mentor and often spoke to engineering students at various levels about invention. He advised one audience, "Nine things out of ten don't work.
From page 115...
... W I L S O N G R E AT B AT C H 115 frequency, he surmised that heart block occurred because of the body's inability to deliver critical signals to the heart. It was, he said simply, a failure of communication.
From page 116...
... 116 MEMORIAL TRIBUTES industrial lithium batteries, medical devices, and related components. He chronicled his career and research in his 2000 memoir, The Making of the Pacemaker.

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