Isaac Starr

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Isaac Starr
ballistocardiograph
AwardsAlbert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (1957)
Kober Medal (1967)
Burger Medal (1977)

Isaac "Jack" Starr (March 6, 1895 – June 22, 1989), known as the father of

ballistocardiograph.[5][6] His early academic positions included being an assistant professor in pharmacology and later the first Hartzell Professor of Research Therapeutics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania[2] as well as dean of the school from 1945 to 1948.[7]

Education

Starr attended primary and secondary school in

magna cum laude in 1916.[8][9] He received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 1920.[2]

After receiving his M.D., Starr went to

heart disease specialist, motivated by the heart disease-related death of his mother.[2]

Career

After returning to Penn, Starr joined

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1928, doing research which used physics and mathematics in the study of the heart,[2] and leading a course in clinical pharmacology for the medical students.[5]

In 1933, he became the first Hartzell Professor of Research

Therapeutics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and held the position until 1961.[2] The endowed chair funded everything except for salaries for his research assistants.[5]

Starr had known that

ballistocardiograph. This project, a suspended bed rigged with springs to pick up resonance frequencies and amplify them, inspired Starr to develop a practical version for use in his own research, with the help of the Eldridge Reeves Johnson Foundation for Medical Physics. This new device used an optical recording system for more accurate readings, however, due to the low natural frequency of heartbeats
, patients had to hold their breath while using it.

The issue with led him to modify the design of the bed to counteract the minute movements using springs, thereby fixing this flaw and allowing the patients to breathe. The final device, introduced in November 1939 by Starr and Dr.

heart chambers do not contract simultaneously.[5][10] The most notable use, however, was that of detecting heart abnormalities much earlier and more accurately in patients, leading to further development and extensive contributions to the field from 1930 to 1960.[2][11]

Before the redesign, however, in 1936, Starr had secured records on multiple healthy people, namely medical students, faculty, friends, and family members. Over the next 40 years, he would study his subjects and eventually report a clinical series on them, detailing such observations as, "Patients with clinical evidence of ischemic heart disease who also had abnormal BCGs developed twice as many recurrences as did those having ischemic heart disease and normal records."[12]

During

National Research Council that was tasked with deciding which chemicals and medications were considered important to medicine. Stead noted in a memoir he felt indebted to Starr for taking him to the National Gallery of Art during some free hours after a day of work which lead to his appreciation of art.[12]

Starr was one of the first people to suggest that

endocrine function were involved in the disease's pathogenesis.[12]

The University of Pennsylvania held a symposium in honor of Isaac Starr in 1978, and then awarded Starr with an honorary Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) degree in 1983 for his contributions to medicine.[12][13]

Awards

Selected publications

References

  1. ^ "Isaac Starr". WWII Draft Registration. National Archives. 1942-04-27. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hepp, Christopher (24 June 1989). "Penn's Isaac Starr, 94, Pioneer In Cardiology". The Inquirer. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  3. PMID 21673836
    .
  4. ISBN 978-1-58829-898-0
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8122-8242-9
    . Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  6. ^ "Isaac Starr". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Princeton University Alumni Council. Archived from the original on 18 July 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  7. ^ Duffin, J. M. "School of Medicine: Deans of the Faculty of the School of Medicine". University History. University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  8. ^ Catalogue of Princeton University. Princeton: Princeton University. 1916. p. 441.
  9. PMID 2181739
    .
  10. ISBN 978-3-319-02912-2
    .
  11. ^ "Accelerating Cardiac Care". Heart Force Medical, Inc. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  12. ^
    PMID 370599
    .
  13. ^ "Chronological Listing of Honorary Degrees". Penn: Commencement. University of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  14. ^ "1957 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award". The Lasker Foundation. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
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