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VOLUME 21, NUMBER 21
MAY 24. 1974
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA
"DOC, THAT TICKLESf"-Dr. Sam Edwards, an associate in pediatric cardiology,
elicits a smile and a giggle from patient Eddie Bailey of Durham as he checks the
placement of electronic sensors attached to a new "super electrocardiogram." The
computer-linked device, currently being developed at Duke, promises to give
researchers and clinicians a more complete picture of heart defects in children. (Photo
by David Williamson)
Now Do Yourself a Safety Favor...
Keep Eyes Peeled for Job Hazards
You've been working at the hospital
for some time now. You've made some
friends, and, being honest with yourself,
you'll admit you take pride in your job.
’ Odds are you like working in a place
where "people take care of people" or
you wouldn't be here. Perhaps you'd be
out making a product or selling a
product.
At Duke, like any good hospital, the
patient comes first.
But do you ever take time out to think
about your own safety or the safety of
your fellow employees? With all of the
t
MAKING THE
ROUNDS—f ire and safety
coordinator Marshall
Fowler affixes a safety
sign to an ice machine in a
research area of the
hospital. Twice each week
Fowler has been visiting
selected areas of the
medical center in an effort
to identify potential
hazards to employees.
(Photo by Dale Moses)
Spach, Barr Say—
Super ECG May Improve
Heart Defect Case Odds
surgical, radiological, research and
maintenance equipment around, there are
countless "opportunities" for accidents
to happen.
The fact is on-the-job safety is
everyone's concern' even though it's
something people tend to take for
granted.
As a result of the Williams-Steiger
Occupational Safety and Health Act
passed by Congress, recommendations by
the university's workman's compensation
insurance company, and Duke's
(Continued on page 3}
More than 26,000 babies are born in
the United States every year with
congenital heart defects. Many undergo
corrective surgery for the disorders and
survive to lead normal, healthy lives.
Unfortunately, however, a significant
number of them with severe defects do
not survive, and many others are denied
the pleasures of a vigorous childhood.
Now, with the aid of a highly sensitive
"super electrocardiogram" currently
being developed by a team of Duke
scientists, the odds these youngsters have
to face may be much more favorable in
future years.
Supported by grants from the National
Foundation—March of Dimes and the
National Institutes of Health, team leader
Dr. Madison S. Spach, professor of
pediatrics and associate professor of
physiology, and his associates have been
"mapping" the heart's electrical activity
so that cardiologists will be able to detect
■and evaluate heart defects in children
before making decisions regarding
surgery.
Working with Spach are Dr. Roger
Barr, assistant professor of both
pediatrics and bion^dical engineering,
and Drs. Sam Edwards and Woodrow
Benson, two Duke p>ediatric cardiologists.
By using a specially designed vest with
150 built-in electrodes instead of the 12
ordinarily used in an electrocardiogram
(ECG), the researchers can create a three
dimensional picture of waves of
electricity produced by the heart that
they feel will be invaluable in supplying
information not previously available
about a patient's condition.
"Existing electrocardiograms are
rather like taking a trip through the
country and staying on the same
well-travelled road," Spach and Barr
explained. "You can't see much of the
scenery, and you don’t learn much about
the area you're interested in.
"The new system we're working on
has already shown us aspects of heart
function we haven't seen before, and
we're beginning to get back significant
data," he said.
At present the Duke scientists are in the
process of recording heart action in both
normal and abnormal infants. The "body
maps" which result from feeding the
information received into a minicomputer
will be compared to the clinical condition
of each infant, and data from the group
as a whole will be computer-processed to
sort out duplicated or useless
information.
The aim, according to Spach, is to
produce a system which will record and
organize all potentially useful data on
infant heart action with a minimum
number of electrodes, perhaps as few as
24.
The researchers are highly optimistic
about the computerized map technique.
Barr believes the method, if not totally
replacing current methods of ECG
research, will at least form a more
complete body of knowledge to guide the
interpretation of conventional ECGs.
Spach said critically ill patients may
benefit considerably because the time
needed for studies before surgery would
be reduced from four hours to
approximately 30 minutes, and the
"isopotential" surface maps, as they are
called, could help eliminate the need for
the more cumbersome and painful heart
catheterization studies.
In addition, the Duke system will
hopefully prove to be more efficient in
detecting previously unsuspected heart
defects because "normal and abnormal
baby hearts often appear very similar on
existing electrocardiograms," Spach
explained.
-DAVID WILLIAMSON
JOHN M. STRIBLING
John M. Stribling
To Leave DJ4.C.
John (Mac) Stribling, assistant
administrative director of the hospital
will become administrator of Broad Oaks
Hospital, a psychiatric facility in
Savannah, Ga., June 3. The hospital is
one of many facilities owned by the
Charter Medical Corporation of Macon,
Ga.
A native of Ninety Six, S.C_.,,Stribling
joined Duke in 1970 as unit adt^^strator
of the operating rooms. Subsequently his
responsibilities were expanded to include
administration of the recovery room, the
acute care unit and the hospital laundry.
Prior to his " appointment as assistant
administrative director of the hospital in
1973, Stribling participated in Duke's
Health Administrators Management
Improvement Program.
Stribling received his B.S. degree in
business administration from Lander
College in Greenwood, S.C. Before
coming to Duke, Stribling served as a
store manager for Sears Roebuck, Inc., a
training coordinator for the Monsanto
Co. and an assistant production manager,
for Roxboro Manufacturing Co.