Antique Tridux Electrotherapy Machine. C 1900

Important antique Tridux electrotherapy machine in very good condition and with the complete original wiring. The machine was made in Switzerland circa 1900 and preserves the seven original batteries, having survived to our days in amazing condition. The big wooden box that contains the equipment (which was used to apply electrical currents with therapeutic purposes) in also very well preserved: the wood shows no cracks or fissures and keeps the original walnut-colored finish. The box has fine dovetail joints, strong and decorative. The machines mechanisms and connections are as attractive as fascinating. Over the inside top that hides the batteries there are different blue- and black-painted bases with different chromed-metal component parts attached to them: screws, terminals, clamps, coils One of the metal pieces bears the engraved inscription PATENT 70699 and the Swiss cross too. There are also several metal plates with instructions and warnings in French. Inside the boxs cover and attached to its front side there are two plates with the machines brand name TRIDUX and the manufacturers name, Oscar Linder. The side handles and the keyhole are made of silvery metal and boast a fine decorative design. This antique electrotherapy machine is a collectors piece worthy of inclusion in a museum of the history of medicine. Measurements: Width: 14.5 in / 37 cm. Height: 11.4 in / 29 cm. Depth: 5.3 in / 13.5 cm.Electrotherapy - History Electrotherapy is a medical technique which uses electrical currents to treat pain and other therapeutic purposes. Its origin dates back to the ancient Rome, where doctors used electric eels to apply currents to their patients. In the 16th century William Gilbert, who was appointed physician to Queen Elizabeth I, published the first book where electric and magnetic phenomena were identified and thoroughly des cribed. In the following centuries electricity was deeply studied and used for therapeutic purposes by different scientist and physicians such as Luigi Galvani or Duchenne, who studied why electric currents provoked muscle spasm in the places known as motor points. Electrotherapy experienced a great boom in the 1930s though after World War II the interest in the subject declined considerably. In the 1980s there was a revival of the therapy, especially for rehabilitation, pain control and scar tissue.