Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-02-08
ELECTRIC SLEEP
TESTS CONDUCTED
At CITY HOSPITAL
Assistant of DR.. Leduc Aids in
Experiments With New
Anesthetic.
OPERATIONS HERE PROVE
SUCCESS OF METHOD
System Still Inadequate, and
Thomas A. Edison Will Be
Urged to Perfect II.

Electric sleep, a condition which can
be applied to any part OF the body, per-
mitting surgical operations being per-
formed without pain to the patient, has
been tried at the City Hospital. Three
patients. it. became known today, have
been operated upon while under the an
esthetic.
DR.. Louise Robinovltch, pupil of NJ
Stephane Leduc. professor of medicine
in rEcole de Nantes, who has studied
the anesthetic and worked incessantly
upon the apparatus used, set up the
necessary paraphernalia at the City
Hospital, where she superintended the
work while the operations were per-
formed by physicians, VINO carefully
watched the effects.
1t was on the invitation of DR..
Christopher C. Beling, 1898 Broad
street, that DIR. Ropinovltch visited
Newark This morning DIR. Beling said
that while the operations were success
full and were followed by no ill-effects,
the physicians were not fully satisfied
that pain had been eliminated The
pain, however, was caused by the cleo
tric current, and not by the operation.
While admitting that electric anes-
thetics opened up vast field of pos
sibility, he said it is not considered
to be at such a stage that 1t can re-
place either ether or chloroform. HaV-
ing no effect upon the heart and being
possible of termination instantaneous
/ ly with the shutting off of the electric
current 1t has many advantages, and
Dr. Beling, who has studied the sub
ject exhaustively, Is anxious to interest
Thomas A. Edison for the purpose OF
explaining to him just what is desired,
and ascertaining, If 1t is possible to
obtain the current, the conditions ano
the control which would make an elec-
trio anesthetic the improvement upon
chloroform and ether which the doctor
believes IT is destined to become.
| In his own surgery DE. Beling has
! tried the electric sleep, but he antici-
pated better results from the trials a.
| the City Hospital, where storage bat
| teries and the mechanism under tho
able supervision of DR.. Robinovitch, al
forded more perfect conditions. Con
| traction of the muscles followed the
/ application of the current. Pain
though slight, was felt by the patients
! from the current and while it pene
| trated certain portions OF the brain
the doctor hopes that all this can b'
eliminated by the scientific electrician.
In a paper read before the Esse'
Medical and Surgical Society, DIR. Bel
ing, quoting NJ. Leduc said: Under
| the title of electric sleep, | have desig
mated a condition analogous to chloro-
form narcosis. in which the sub1ec
lies recumbent. without any voluntar,
movement, without any defensive re
action. except to the most painful eN
citations. some reflex movements ant
the cardiac and respiratory movements
persisting This condition, produced
by the action upon the brain of certain
electric current, can be maintained TO
several consecutive hours and be ter
minated instantly upon the cessation o
the current"