IEEE History Center: Robert Arzbaecher Abstract

Robert Arzbaecher received his Bachelor’s from the Fournier Institute of Technology and his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana (1960). Between 1953 and 1960 he worked at the Argonne National Laboratory for 5 years, working on nuclear reactor control and instrumentation. He also spent 1955-56 in the Army, in the Army Reactors Branch of the Atomic Energy Commission. From 1960 to the late 1960s he worked at the Christian Brothers College in Memphis; he then moved to the University of Illinois at Chicago; from 1976 to 1981 he was at the University of Iowa as Chairman of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Professor of Medicine; since then he has been at the Pritzker Institute of Medical Engineering in Chicago. In the early 1960s he collaborated with Daniel Brody, a cardiologist at the University of Tennessee, on theoretical electrocardiography. In the late 1960s and early 1970s he invented the swallowable pill electrode, for recording electrocardiograms from inside the esophagus. The electrode can detect atrial arrhythmias and can be used as part of an external pacemaker. His family founded Arzco Medical Systems to sell these pill electrodes and sold the business in 1987. His research since has been on allowing real-time treatment of atrial arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation, by automatic detection and automatic drug delivery via a motorized pump. He has been working for 25 years to get the technology together, and is now approaching the stage of clinical trials in animals.

1	Born Chicago, 1931. Bachelor’s from Fournier Institute of Technology. To University of Illinois at Urbana for PhD in Electrical Engineering, 1960. Thesis on a force-reflecting servomechanism, in control systems area.
2	In Army 1955-56, at Army Reactors Branch of Atomic Energy Commission. From 1953 to 1960 was at Argonne National Laboratory a total of 5 years, working in nuclear reactor control and instrumentation.
3	To Christian Brothers College in Memphis. Met Daniel Brody, cardiologist at University of Tennessee. Worked with him on theoretical electrocardiography; turned into biomedical engineer.
4	1-year National Science Foundation Fellowship 6 years later to University of Amsterdam, Dirk Durrer’s lab, clinical work on human heart. Got involved in experimental cardiology. Human heart mapping experiment with Durrer.
5	To University of Illinois at Chicago.
6	Mathematical modeling at Memphis had been computer modeling, with IBM 1620, DEC PDP-8, and a PDP-15. Part of shift from mainframes to mini-computers. At new lab in Chicago, acquired a PDP-11. Much of work has been applying computer technology to signal processing from the heart.
7	Impacts of minicomputer on electrocardiography: allowed many more labs to do significant computer work. Led to digital signal processing, online real-time signal processing. Work with Durrer had been analog recording on a 14-channel magnetic tape. Got into digital techniques in early 1970s.
8	Real-time meant no need to deal with tape recording. And allowed treatment of life-threatening arrhythmias—need computer-controlled drug delivery in real time. His goal from 1970s. Support from pharmaceutical company, G. D. Searle, which wanted to see if he could deliver Searle drugs and have them be effective.
9	Invented swallowable pill electrode for recording electrocardiogram from inside esophagus. Describes process of invention. Experimenting on himself.
10	Early 1970s: esophagal electrode gave signal by which computer analysis could recognize atrial arrhythmias. Then needed to develop IV pump that would automatically work after arrhythmia detected.
11	1976-81 at University of Iowa as Chairman of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, plus Professor of Medicine in Cardiology. Perfecting pill electrode. Got patent rights from University of Illinois, went into business for himself making pill electrodes.
12	Family business; Arzco Medical Systems; wife the business manager, two of his children the only employees. Sending off advertising brochure to hospitals. Application as a pacemaker, when attached to an external pacemaker, esophagal pacing. Getting FDA approval in 1986.
13	Allows cardiac stress testing by pacing the heart rather than by exercising the patient. Allows echocardiograms. Temporary esophagal pacing can convert arrhythmias, atrial flutter. Treats paroxysms. But family grown, no longer able to keep making pills themselves, company sold in 1987. Pill electrodes still on market, being sold by Cardiac Control.
14	Need closed loop treatment of arrhythmia, so that patient with a paroxysm of atrial arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation, can be automatically treated by a drug delivery system in the form of a motorized pump. Still working on getting this done right. A pill a day doesn’t do the trick, and has toxic side-effects in long run: you need to take the pill at the moment of paroxysm.
15	Atrial fibrillation isn’t immediately deadly, but treatment by electroshock is painful, and the disease has bad long term consequences, including risk of stroke. So worth treating by his method. Different parts of technology are there; putting them together is the problem.
16	Automatic drug pump to provide insulin for diabetics is the dream of the drug pump people.
17	Valves rather than motors in his experimental devices; fewer moving parts, easy to control. Details of how he would implant his pump in the chest, like a pacemaker.
18	Problems: no experience with IV infusion in ambulatory patients. Danger of IV infusion away from closely monitored hospital environment. Drug effects still need to be checked out. Need reliable recognition of onset of arrhythmia. Optimal pump operation. Making pump small enough. Most of these in hand; now clinical studies needed, in animals first.
19	Commercial development, interaction with ITT and corporate world, also being worked out.
20	To Pritzker Institute of Medical Engineering in Chicago. Still there now. Pritzker funds various research areas, gives faculty at other universities laboratory space and time. Also 2 full-time faculty lines in Institute itself. Significant work in rehabilitation engineering by Bob Jaeger. Phil Troyk developing microelectronics and encapsulation techniques to allow neural stimulation from tiny implants.
21	IIT offers PhD in Biomedical Engineering through the Pritzker Institute. Cooperation with local universities, including U Chicago.
22	Rehabilitative engineering: use electric stimulation to make paralyzed muscle contract—allow paraplegics to stand, lock knees, sort-of walk, maybe benefit atrophied muscles; allows quadriplegics to cough and clear lungs.
23	Electrocardiogram developments: digital signal processing, automatic diagnosis.
24	Knew Otto Schmitt, David Geselowitz, Alan Bersen. All on standards committee in 1970s for American Heart Association, developing standards and recommendations for electrocardiographs.
25	Generally good relations with physicians, though some still not fully respectful of engineers. Synthesis when engineers and physicians are equal partners is wonderful, when engineer learns properly about physiology, etc, physician learns properly about technology.