1953 – First successful surgery using a heart-lung bypass machine is completed,where the machine supports the two organs while surgeons complete the much-needed operations.
1970 – Endoscopes are invented, giving surgeons and doctors the opportunity to see inside the body via fibreoptic cables with a light source.
1972 – The first ever CAT scanner is introduced by Geoffrey Hounsfield,which uses X-ray images from a number of angles to build a 3D image of the inside of the body
1980 – The first Automated Electronic Defibrillators (AEDs) are clinically tested.
1981 – MRI imaging is introduced , which allows monitoring of the electrical activity in the brain.
1985 – The first Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) is invented by Michel Mirowski. The small electronic device monitors and corrects abnormal heart rhythms and is implanted on those that have suffered two or more cardiac arrests.
2001 – The first artificial heart is implanted into a patient by a group of surgeons in Kentucky, USA. Named abiocor, the device is an improvement on existing artificial hearts as it requires no tubes or it lines running through the skin and allows the user to freely live without being bedridden.
2010 – The first surgery is completed by robots in the USA. Humans are only involved to control the robots.