They discovered that small electric shocks could induce ventricular fibrillation. The first use of a defibrillator on a human was in 1947 by Claude Beck, professor of surgery at Case Western Reserve University.

When was a defibrillator first successfully used on a patient?

While inventors had touched on the idea of using electric shock to restart the heart or correct a heartbeat beginning in the late 1800s, heart surgery pioneer Claude Beck performed the first successful defibrillation in 1947 on a 14-year-old boy experiencing ventricular fibrillation during one of his surgeries.

When did ambulances start carrying defibrillators?

A major breakthrough was the introduction of portable defibrillators used out of hospital in the 1950’s.