Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

When was the electrocardiograph invented?

  1. 1903

  2. 1900

  3. 1902

  4. 1904
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A Correct answer
Explanation

The electrocardiograph (ECG) was invented by Willem Einthoven in 1903. He received the Nobel Prize in 1924 for this invention, which revolutionized cardiac diagnosis by allowing doctors to record the electrical activity of the heart.

AI explanation

The electrocardiograph is credited to Dutch physiologist Willem Einthoven, who built the first practical string galvanometer capable of recording the heart's electrical activity as a complete, clinically usable instrument in 1903 (detailed in his Pflügers Archiv paper). His work spanned several years — an early 1895 concept, a preliminary 1901 galvanometer report, and further refinement in 1902 — but the finished device widely recognized in encyclopedic and historical sources (Britannica, the IEEE Engineering & Technology History Wiki, the National MagLab's Magnet Academy, Lemelson-MIT) as 'the electrocardiograph' dates to 1903, which is also the year most commonly cited in general references for 'when the ECG was invented.' The DB's 1902 date corresponds to an intermediate publication rather than the completed practical instrument, making 1903 the better-supported single answer.

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