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Previous Issues > October 2006 > How Does That Work? > A Life-saving Invention And Its Unlikely Inventor
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 How Does That Work?
A Life-saving Invention and Its Unlikely Inventor
This is the story of an inventor whose work with a first-class doctor led to thousands of lives being saved, yet he didnt receive the recognition that he deserved.
His name was Charles, but I dont want you to feel sorry for him, because Charles didnt want the attention that comes with helping to create a life-saving invention. Charles had earned enough praise for his work in another field, totally unrelated to his work as a medical researcher and inventor.
 Besides, since he was already known as the greatest in his field, he would probably not have been taken seriously as a medical researcher. Does anyone remember that Babe Ruth the actor once starred in a movie? Or that Mark Twain the inventor once earned more money from one of his inventions than from his writings that year?
Any unnecessary attention might hinder Charless work. His motivation came from the fact that his sister-in-law had a serious illness, and there wasnt any kind of medical device available that could save her life. Charles approached Dr. Alexis Carrel of the Rockefeller Institute about working together. An odd pairing, the two hit it off immediately. Carrel, who had won a Nobel Prize for his work on organ transplants, was known as the father of vascular surgery and was somewhat quirky, while Charles was the amateur medical researcher with nationwide name recognition who chose to work in anonymity.
Dr. Carrel was from France, a country which gave Charles a heros welcome. He later won a Pulitzer Prize in 1939 for a book that he co-wrote with Charles called The Culture of Organs. Charles would later win a Pulitzer Prize of his own for a book in a totally different field.
The two of them went about trying to create a way to keep the heart and other organs alive outside of the body during surgery. The result was a perfusion pump, which consisted of an organ chamber, an equalization chamber and a pressure chamber, all contained in a glass container. It was designed to circulate blood through the body during surgery.
Charles created a system of floating valves, using airplane glue to seal the device shut. It had to be a closed system in order to keep things sterile. Charles had even suggested to Carrel that he bypass the heart during cardiac surgery, but Carrel refused. It took another 20 years before another surgeon accomplished open heart surgery in 1954.
When World War II began, both men walked away from their research. Carrel died during the war, ironically, of heart failure while Charles was stationed in the Pacific.
Success and inventing seemed to run in Charless family. His father was elected to the U.S. Congress five times and later made a run for the Senate, which he lost. His maternal grandfather was the dentist who invented the porcelain crown.
The family of Charless wife, Anne, was just as successful as Charless family. Annes father was a partner of J.P. Morgan, as well as an ambassador to Mexico and later a U.S. Senator. In fact, it was Annes anesthesiologist who led him to Dr. Carrel. Both Charles and Anne received numerous awards during their life together, yet they were haunted by the death of their infant son early in their marriage.
By now, youve probably figured out who Charles is. If not, heres a recap of the clues:
France, a country which gave Charles a heros welcome.
Charles had won a Pulitzer Prize for his book.
Charles used airplane glue to seal the system of floating valves shut.
Charles and Anne were haunted by the death of their infant son.
The book was The Spirit of St. Louis, which Charles Lindbergh wrote in 1953.
Charles Lindbergh, an American aviator, made the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean on May 20-21, 1927. Since Charless second career would probably have been overshadowed by his first as was the case with actor Babe Ruth and inventor Mark Twain he probably would not have been taken seriously as a medical researcher and inventor.
The invention came to be known as the Carrel-Lindbergh perfusion pump. Lindberghs contribution was the perfusion system and the centrifuge which he made to separate blood plasma without damaging it. Charles didnt really create the first artificial heart as has been reported, but rather a way to keep organs alive outside the body during surgery.
Activity Guide for Students
Using any resource materials you can find starting with Kidsville News locate four other people who have accomplished important things in more than one field. Write these down in your notebook or scrapbook, and write a paragraph about each one. Explain how they were able to accomplish such great things in more than one field, and explain the significance of their accomplishments, such as who their accomplishments helped. Keep this notebook and refer back to it occasionally to let it inspire you to do great things.
This story is part of the Invention Mysteries series by author Paul Niemann. The Invention Mysteries book reveals the little-known stories behind 47 well-known inventions. Visit www.InventionMysteries.com.
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