Naum Gurvich

Naum Lazarevich Gurvich (Наум Лазаревич Гурвич) (April 15, 1905-1981) was a Soviet-Jewish cardiac physician, a pioneer in the development of defibrillators.[1]

Naum Gurvich was born in the village of Timkovichi near Minsk, Belarus.[1] Early successful experiments of successful defibrillation by the discharge of a capacitor performed on animals were reported by N. L. Gurvich and G. S. Yunyev in 1939.[2] In 1947 their works were reported in western medical journals.[3] Serial production of Gurvich's pulse defibrillator started in 1952, model ИД-1-ВЭИ (the abbreviation stands for "импульсный дефибриллятор 1, Всесоюзный электротехнический институт", "pulse defibrillator 1, All-Union Electrotechnical Institute; the device was manufactured by the electromechanical plant of the Institute). It is described in detail in Gurvich's 1957 book, Heart Fibrillation and Defibrillation.[4]

In 1958, US senator Hubert H. Humphrey visited Nikita Khrushchev and among other things he visited the Moscow Institute of Reanimatology led by Vladimir Negovsky, where, among others, he met with Gurvich.[5] Humphrey immediately recognized importance of reanimation research and after thar a number of American doctors visited Gurvich. At the same time, Humphrey worked on establishing of a federal program in the National Institute of Health in physiology and medicine, telling to the Congress: "Let’s compete with U.S.S.R. in research on reversibility of death". [6]


In 1970 Gurvich was among the group awadred the USSR State Prize in science and tecnhnology "за предложение, разработку и внедрение в медицинскую практику ЭИТ аритмий сердца" (for the proposal, development and introduction into medical practice of electropulse therapy [ cardioversion ] of cardiac arhythmies.)

References

  1. 1 2 Igor R. Efimov, "Naum Lazarevich Gurvich (1905–1981) and his contribution to the history of defibrillation", Cardiol J. 2009; 16(2): 190–193.
  2. ↑ Гурвич Н.Л., Юньев Г.С. О восстановлении нормальной деятельности фибриллирующего сердца теплокровных посредством конденсаторного разряда // Бюллетень экспериментальной биологии и медицины, 1939, Т. VIII, № 1, С. 55-58
  3. ↑ Gurvich NL, Yunyev GS. Restoration of a regular rhythm in the mammalian fibrillating heart // Am Rev Sov Med. 1946 Feb;3:236-9
  4. ↑ Аппарат для дефибрилляции сердца одиночным электрическим импульсо,м in: Гурвич Н.Л. Фибрилляция и дефибрилляция сердца. Moscow, Medgiz, 1957, pp. 229-233.
  5. ↑ Humphrey H H. My marathon talk with Russia’s boss: Senator humphrey reports in full on Khrushchev — his threats, jokes, criticism of China’s communes New York: Time Inc., 1959, pp. 80–91.
  6. ↑ Humphrey HH. An important phase of world medical research: Let’s compete with U.S.S.R. in research on reversibility of death. Congressional Records. 1962 October 13;:A7837–A7839

Further reading

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