Elec-treat Mechanical Heart
date: label: date made
content: after 1931
label: patent date
content: 1931-07-07
label: patent date
content: 1919-06-03
notes: label: Description
content: The Electreat Mechanical Heart is an electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) device designed, manufactured, and promoted by Charles Willie Kent in Peoria. It has been estimated that as many as 250,000 of the Electreats were sold over the course of 25 years. Following passage of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act in 1938, Kent was prosecuted for making unsubstantiated medical claims.
label: Description
content: An inscription on this cardboard box reads "ELEC-TREAT MECHANICAL HEART / Patented and Trade Mark Reg. / Made in U. S. A., Peoria, Ill. / For Relief of Pain and Muscular Soreness "
label: Description
content: Ref: Charles W. Kent, “Electric- Massage Machine,” U.S. Patent 1,305,725 (June 3, 1919).
label: Description
content: Electreat Manufacturing Co., Electreat Removes Pain (Peoria, 1919).
label: Description
content: Morris Fishbein, “Medical Hucksters,” The Atlanta Constitutioisn (July 25, 1948), pp. SM16-SM17.
label: Description
content: “Convict Maker of Device Held Noncurative,” Chicago Tribune (Sept. 22, 1950), p. A6.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Illinois, Peoria
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Medicine
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1990.0208.01
label: catalog number
content: 1990.0208.01
label: accession number
content: 1990.0208
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Electrotherapeutic Device
label: Other Terms
content: Electrotherapy
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal, chromium (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: rubber (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: sponge (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: fabric, cotton (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: black (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: green (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: brown (overall color)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 28 cm x 5.7 cm x 4.3 cm; 11 1/32 in x 2 1/4 in x 1 11/16 in