1899

Prevost and Battelli, Geneva physiologists, reporting on effects of various voltages and currents passed through the hearts of animals, observe that it is possible to convert ventricular fibrillation to regular rhythm by passing strong electric currents through the fibrillating heart (Fye II, 861). In 1933, Hopkins electrical engineer William Kouwenhoven and colleagues at Rockefeller Institute formed a committee to study electrocution to demonstrate electrical defibrillation in animals (Fye II, 862).