General Information

Serial #

prototype

Part Number

1

Total Parts

10

AKA

blood pump

Patents

N/A

General Description

metal, rubber, cork and glass components.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

19.0 cm

Width

9.0 cm

Height

12.7 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Medical Technology

Category

Medical equipment

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Murray Roschlau

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Toronto

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

Used c. 1951-1953.

Canada

Second artificial kidney designed and manufactured by Drs. Gordon Murray and Walter Roschlau at W.P Caven Research Foundation, Toronto c. 1951-1953. It was used experimentally in his laboratory on Holmwood Ave. (site of the CRV) and once for emergency treatment on a patient suffering kidney failure at Toronto General Hospital. [Ref.4] Murray's second-generation machine was an improvement from the original: it's design features made it more compact and efficient, easier to handle, set-up and use, and less intimidating for both patient and hospital staff. [Ref. 8] Murray abandoned his renal dialysis research c. 1954 . Murray was a remarkable surgeon and innovator whose work earned him international recognition. In the 1930s Dr. Murray introduced the anticoagulant Heparin to world clinical practice; in the '40s he developed the first artificial kidney in North America; and in 1955 he performed the first successful transplant of a human heart valve. Unfortunately, these achievements are often overshadowed by his later, controversial work on an anti-cancer serum, and on unconventional surgery for injuries caused by traumatic paraplegia. (2002.0619 Ref. 3]

Function

Used to move blood from patient to artificial kidney machine, and return filtered blood to patient.

Technical

Diaphragm pump with push-and-pull action: the plunger [which is not permanently attached] pushes on the diaphragm which is driven into the pump chamber, expelling blood through the outlet valve. Refilling of the pump chamber with blood occurs by passive aspiration during the plunger's back stroke. The pump has a capacity of 30 mL, and was autoclaved after assembly. (Ref. 5) In earlier version of artificial kidney machine, Murray used an electric motor to power a pump assembly: a rubber tambour was inflated and deflated by the action of a piston-syringe, with intake and outlet valves controlling the blood flow. [see 2002.0619.4]

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

None evident, save UHN catalogue no. "994.1.18" printed by hand in black ink on frame.

Missing

Unknown.

Finish

Bright silver metal [stainless steel ?] frame and selected fittings; black rubber diaphragm and selected fittings; clear glass tube.

Decoration

N/A