6. Electroretinogram
The original model of the electroretinogram looks like something out of a science fiction horror novel. The numerous wires going to the eyes make the woman in the photo either look like a cyborg being repaired or a victim of some devious dystopian torture. In reality, it’s just a very early model of a device that is still used today. Today’s devices look far less sinister, being either a handheld device reminiscent of a shop check-out scanner or a single monocle-like lens with a cord that sits over the eye.
This machine was first ever used on an amphibian’s eye in 1865 in Sweden. The procedure was first performed on a human in 1877. However, it wasn’t until the middle of the 20th century that the method became standardized and widespread. Ragnar Granit won the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine in 1967 for his work with the electroretinogram.
The electroretinogram is both the device and the name for the diagnostic test which the machine performs. The test measures electrical activity generated cells in the retina in response to light as a stimulus. The analysis can provide diagnostic information on many retinal diseases, including night blindness and cancer.