General Information

Serial #

prototype

Part Number

4

Total Parts

6

AKA

artificial kidney machine

Patents

N/A

General Description

Heavy silver metal base; dull silver metal rods, supports, and other minor fittings; metal casing on motor has black enamel finish on casing; dark brown fabric covering on electrical wire; medium brown wood support housing for blue glass tube; clear glass tube; red rubber seal; cork; power switch has dark brown/black bakelite casing.

Dimensions

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

Length

48.0 cm

Width

29.8 cm

Height

18.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Medical Technology

Category

Research

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Murray

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Toronto

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

Used 1946- 1947.

Canada

First artificial kidney machine made in North America by Dr. Gordon Murray, simultaneously and independently of Willem Kolff's invention in Holland in the 1940s. Designed and built by Murray himself, it was used successfully on four patients at Toronto General Hospital, 1946-47. 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. (Ref. 3]

Function

Used to circulate blood through dialysate solution.

Technical

Murray's artificial kidney used a pump, rather than gravity, to circulate blood through filtering medium. The design of the pumping system was problematic: the system could not crush blood corpuscles, cause clotting or produce hemolysis, and had to operate smoothly and efficiently. Murray's design incorporated an electric motor-driven syringe which inflated and deflated a rubber tambour (condom). [Ref. 5] Blood flow was controlled by intake and outlet valves. [2002.0620, Ref. 8] Elements of this assembly were used in the earliest version of Murray & Roschlau's artificial kidney machine [2002.0620] The metal base, supports, electric motor and reciprocating rod were among these "recycled" elements. [please see photographs, Ref. 6]

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

"ON" and "OFF" appears in recessed print on switch. Markings on blue glass tube are obscured: reads in part "VIM" and "425"; graduated scale etched on one face is divided in tenths, with "10" labelled. UHN catalogue no. "994.1.17" printed by hand in black ink on base.

Missing

Unknown. Rubber components of assembly have deteriorated: some loss is evident.

Finish

Heavy silver metal base; dull silver metal rods, supports, and other minor fittings; metal casing on motor has black enamel finish on casing; dark brown fabric covering on electrical wire; medium brown wood support housing for blue glass tube; clear glass tube; red rubber seal; cork; power switch has dark brown/black bakelite casing.

Decoration

N/A