Isaac Starr
Encyclopedia
Isaac "Ike" Starr was an American physician
and heart disease
specialist notable for developing the first practical ballistocardiograph
. His early academic positions included being an assistant professor in pharmacology and later the first Hartzell Professor of Research Therapeutics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
as well as dean of the medical school from 1945 to 1948.
in 1912. From there he went to Princeton University
where he received his Bachelor of Science
(Sc.B.) degree, graduating in 1916. He received his Doctor of Medicine
(M.D.) degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
in 1920.
After receiving his M.D., Starr went to Massachusetts General Hospital
in Boston
where he completed his internship before returning to Penn, where he later became a heart disease
specialist, motivated by the heart disease-related death of his mother.
’ group investigating mechanisms by which the kidney created urine. At the request of Richards, Starr became one of the first assistant professors at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
in 1928, doing research which used physics and mathematics in the study of the heart, and leading a course in clinical pharmacology
for the medical students.
Only a few years later, he participated in a cardiac output
methods program by the American Physiological Society
at which his colleague, Yandell Henderson, demonstrated an apparatus for measuring cardiac output
, a 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 heartbeat
s, patients had to hold their breath while using it. The issue 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 was used to measure cardiac output
and led to the first accurate physical measurements and also detection for when the heart chamber
s do not contract simultaneously. 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.
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. The endowed chair funded everything except for salaries for his research assistant
s.
The University of Pennsylvania
awarded Starr with an honorary
Doctor of Science
(Sc.D.) degree in 1983 for his contributions to medicine.
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
specialist notable for developing the first practical ballistocardiograph
Ballistocardiograph
Ballistocardiograph or BCG detects and measures recoil of the human body due to the momentum of the blood that the heart is currently pumping....
. His early academic positions included being an assistant professor in pharmacology and later the first Hartzell Professor of Research Therapeutics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
The Perelman School of Medicine , formerly the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, was founded in 1765, making it the oldest American medical school. As part of the University of Pennsylvania, it is located in the University City section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is widely...
as well as dean of the medical school from 1945 to 1948.
Education
Starr attended primary and secondary school in Philadelphia, graduating from the Chestnut Hill AcademyChestnut Hill Academy
Chestnut Hill Academy, commonly referred to as CHA, is a Pre-K to 12 all-male independent college preparatory school located in northwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
in 1912. From there he went to Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
where he received his Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
(Sc.B.) degree, graduating in 1916. He received his Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
(M.D.) degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
The Perelman School of Medicine , formerly the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, was founded in 1765, making it the oldest American medical school. As part of the University of Pennsylvania, it is located in the University City section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is widely...
in 1920.
After receiving his M.D., Starr went to Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital is a teaching hospital and biomedical research facility in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
where he completed his internship before returning to Penn, where he later became a heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
specialist, motivated by the heart disease-related death of his mother.
Career
After returning to Penn, Starr joined Alfred Newton RichardsAlfred Newton Richards
Alfred Newton Richards was an American pharmacologist.Richards was born in Stamford, New York. He served as chairman of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine's Department of Pharmacology from 1910 to 1946; thereafter he became Professor Emeritus...
’ group investigating mechanisms by which the kidney created urine. At the request of Richards, Starr became one of the first assistant professors at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
The Perelman School of Medicine , formerly the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, was founded in 1765, making it the oldest American medical school. As part of the University of Pennsylvania, it is located in the University City section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is widely...
in 1928, doing research which used physics and mathematics in the study of the heart, and leading a course in clinical pharmacology
Clinical pharmacology
Clinical pharmacology is the science of drugs and their clinical use. It is underpinned by the basic science of pharmacology, with added focus on the application of pharmacological principles and methods in the real world...
for the medical students.
Only a few years later, he participated in a cardiac output
Cardiac output
Cardiac output is the volume of blood being pumped by the heart, in particular by a left or right ventricle in the time interval of one minute. CO may be measured in many ways, for example dm3/min...
methods program by the American Physiological Society
American Physiological Society
The American Physiological Society was founded in 1887 with 28 members. Of them, 21 were graduates of medical schools, but only 12 had studied in schools that had a professor of physiology. Today, the APS has 10,500 members, most of whom hold doctoral degrees in medicine, physiology or other...
at which his colleague, Yandell Henderson, demonstrated an apparatus for measuring cardiac output
Cardiac output
Cardiac output is the volume of blood being pumped by the heart, in particular by a left or right ventricle in the time interval of one minute. CO may be measured in many ways, for example dm3/min...
, a ballistocardiograph
Ballistocardiograph
Ballistocardiograph or BCG detects and measures recoil of the human body due to the momentum of the blood that the heart is currently pumping....
. This project, a suspended bed rigged with springs to pick up resonance frequencies
Resonance
In physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to oscillate at a greater amplitude at some frequencies than at others. These are known as the system's resonant 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
Eldridge R. Johnson
Eldridge Reeves Johnson co-created the Victor Talking Machine Company alongside Emile Berliner, a United States corporation, and built it into the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time.In...
. This new device used an optical recording system for more accurate readings, however, due to the low natural frequency of heartbeat
Heart sounds
Heart sounds, or heartbeats, are the noises generated by the beating heart and the resultant flow of blood through it...
s, patients had to hold their breath while using it. The issue 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 was used to measure cardiac output
Cardiac output
Cardiac output is the volume of blood being pumped by the heart, in particular by a left or right ventricle in the time interval of one minute. CO may be measured in many ways, for example dm3/min...
and led to the first accurate physical measurements and also detection for when the heart chamber
Heart chamber
aHeart chamber is a general term used to refer to any chambers of the mammalian heart. The heart consists of four chambers: the right and left atrium and the right and left ventricle. The top chambers are connected to the bottom chambers by valves and are separated by the coronary sulcus...
s do not contract simultaneously. 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.
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. The endowed chair funded everything except for salaries for his research assistant
Research assistant
A research assistant is a researcher employed, often on a temporary contract, by a university or a research institute, for the purpose of assisting in academic research...
s.
The University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
awarded Starr with an honorary
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
(Sc.D.) degree in 1983 for his contributions to medicine.
Awards
- Albert Lasker AwardAlbert Lasker Award for Basic Medical ResearchThe Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research is one of the prizes awarded by the Lasker Foundation for the understanding, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and cure of disease...
of the American Heart AssociationAmerican Heart AssociationThe American Heart Association is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas...
(1957) "for fundamental contributions to knowledge of the heart and the circulation, and for his development of the first practical ballistocardiograph" - Kober Medal of the Association of American PhysiciansAssociation of American PhysiciansThe Association of American Physicians is a medical society founded in 1885 by the Canadian physician Sir William Osler and six other distinguished physicians of his era, for "the advancement of scientific and practical medicine." Election to the AAP is an honor extended to individuals with...
(1967) - Burger Medal of the Free University of Amsterdam (1977)