In this autobiography/biography Charlie reviews his life in the medical field. We would like to acknowledge the input of Colin Walsh in provoking Charlie into considering relative landmarks in his career.

Charlie O'Neill worked as a Bio-Medical Engineer in the Federated Dublin Voluntary Hospital. His career in these hospitals spanned thirty-three years. Over this period he witnessed the development and expansion of medical electronic technology from its early beginnings, during and after world war two, to its becoming the essential and indispensable part of modern medicine. He retired as Chief Technologist from the Dept. of Medical Physics and Bioengineering, St. James in 1992.

He was born in Dublin and educated in Synge Street, Ringsend and Kevin St. technical colleges. He commenced work in 1943 and trained as a Field Service Engineer in the domestic radio business. He spent a period in the mid 1950's working in the TV manufacturing industry.

He joined Baggot Street hospital in 1959 and was attached to the newly opened CardioPulmonary unit under the direction of Drs. RW. Childers and T.T Chapman. The new unit was equipped with a grant from the Wellcome Foundation. Total cost of the equipment was £1700. The new cardiac catheterisation lab was equipped with pressure measuring. ECG, phono and pulse amplifier modules all mounted in a mobile trolley with a separate photographic recorder and CRT display. However, the X-Ray screening equipment was rather primitive. The image was viewed on a fluorescent screen in an almost totally darkened room. Screening time was limited to fourteen minutes at 2Ma and about 80Kv.

As well as serving in the cath lab. the equipment was also used in the operating theatre for monitoring patients undergoing open heart surgery which was just starting at this time, and other procedures such as pacemaker implantation. It was then moved into the recovery ward to monitor the patient post operatively. In addition to his duties as Biomed Technician he was also required to set up and operate the equipment in the various hospital areas and process the photographic recordings as well as processing Fundus camera film. This was a special camera for photographing the back of the eye.

Money and equipment were scarce at this time and the range was limited compared with today. When he joined Baggot St. the hospital had just discontinued using an Eindhoven String Galvanometer for the recording of ECG's. This was the earliest form of ECG recorder. It had no amplification. It depended on the deflection of a 'string' i.e. a gold or other metal plated glass string mounted in a strong magnetic field supplied by a powerful electromagnet powered by lead acid batteries. The string deflected under the influence of the ECG voltage picked up directly from the body. The deflecting string interrupted a light beam which traced the ECG recording on a glass photographic plate. The machine was big, cumbersome and would fill a small room. It had just been replaced by the latest valve operated, mains powered portable ECG recorder - a huge advance.

This machine was possibly one of the first to incorporate a degree of 'protection' for the patient. A 5Ma fuse was fitted between ground and the patient's right leg to 'protect' him/her from electric shock. This machine was cared for as if it were the crown jewels. Those hospitals which had a basic form of a staffed engineering dept., and they were very few, encouraged the construction of equipment where possible. Perhaps 'staffed' was an overstatement as usually there was only one person.

In the early days he constructed an A.C. defibrillator (up to 80OVAC was applied across the chest for external defibrillation timed by flicking the onloff switch as quickly as possible, whilst for internal defibrillation up to 150VAC. was applied for 0.1 seconds electronically timed.) This remained in use until the advent of the DC. Defibrillator. At one stage, for a short period, there was only one defibrillator between the FDVH hospitals which was held at Baggot Street hospital. If it was required he would put it in his car and proceed as quickly as possible to the hospital requesting its use, whilst the Patient was being supported by external cardiac massage. Traffic was not as heavy then as it is now. This situation only lasted for a short period as the Department of Health decreed that every hospital in the country must be equipped with at least one defibrillator and cardiac monitor.

Other items he constructed included an external cardiac pacemaker using germanium transistors, and a fibrillator, to fibrillate the heart during heart surgery. Later a Gas Transfer System for measuring the diffusing capacity of the lungs was constructed as well as a whole body Plethysmograph, with some help from the Brompton Hospital in London, for the measurement of Airway Resistance and capillary blood flow. He also advised the Hospitals in the group on new equipment purchases.

In 1966 he transferred to the Federated Dublin Voluntary Hospitals but remained based at Baggot Street where the Medical Engineering Department was expanded to provide a technical service to the seven FDVH hospitals and in 1975 to the St. James's complex. When all open heart operations transferred to the Mater Hospital in the early 1970's he specified all the monitoring equipment for the cardiac Theatre and supervised its operation.

In the early 1980's the department at Baggot Street was absorbed into newly formed Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering and upon the closure of Baggot Street Hospital in 1987 he transferred to the new department. From this time until he retired in 1992 he was engaged in the specification and commissioning of the medical electrical equipment for the new St. James's hospital.

He has been a member of Technical No. 10 of the Elec tro -Technical Council of Ireland for over 20 years and was a member of sub-committee 10A which produced 'National Rules for Electrical Installations in Medically Used Rooms' He still retains an active interest in standardisation and attends IEC and Cenelec meetings on a regular basis. He continues to keep in touch with his friends and colleagues in St. James's and the FDVH on matters pertaining to standardisation and other interests.