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Updated: Apr 12, 2026

A New Single Chamber Implantable Defibrillator with Atrial Sensing: A Practical Demonstration of Sensing and Ease of Implantation
Published on: February 28, 2012
[Clinical development of the automatic implantable defibrillator over 35 years: A success story]
1Zentrum für Kardiologie am Klinikum Starnberg, Oßwaldstr. 1, 82319, Starnberg, Deutschland, g.steinbeck@kardiozentrum-starnberg.de.
Abstract:
After 12 years of development and experimental evaluation, the first automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) was implanted in man on February 4, 1980. This overview describes the technical and functional developments over 35 years from a simple shock-box, weighing 292 g, to the sophisticated 80 g device of today, delivering graded therapy to sustained ventricular arrhythmias and biventricular stimulation to treat heart failure. Finally, a special tribute is given to Michel Mirowski, one of the inventors of the ICD, as scientist and physician dedicated to patient care.
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