Otto Schmitt: a father of biomedical engineering and master Gadgeteer

Abstract

Otto Schmitt was one of the early fathers of biomedical engineering. Besides inventing the Schmitt trigger, which most electrical engineers are familiar with, he developed many other instruments and made significant contributions to electrophysiology. He created an excellent vector cardiographic lead system (SVEC III). He conducted experiments on the effect of electromagnetic fields on the body. He chaired and served on many of the early committees involved with developing biomedical engineering and on the safety of electromagnetic fields. In his later years, biomimetics was a very strong interest. Schmitt gave many talks outlining what future activities the field should undertake.