Look what Daniel brought into Lab_13 today! It is a Magneto-Electric Machine which was his great grandfathers. He was lucky to find it in his grandparents attic recently and has brought it to school to show everyone how it works.
In about 1850, the doctor would place handles in the patient’s hands or elsewhere on the patient’s body and then turn a crank to deliver a ‘mild’ alternating current to the patient. The force of the current depended upon the tightness of the back right screw. We tried it on some of the teachers!
Back then, they believed the treatment could relieve pain, as well as cure numerous diseases, including cancer, tuberculosis, diabetes, gangrene, heart disease, tetanus, and spinal deformities. While we don’t use machines like this anymore, scientific investigations into the study of electricity for medicine, has given us devices used by anesthesiologists to ensure that patients receive proper doses of certain muscle relaxants, to accurately locate nerves for the safe administration of nerve blocks, and to treat chronic pain.
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