Hospital for Sick Children · Health Sciences
A small wooden case with a hinged lid opens to reveal storage for two types of electrodes and an instruction card. The case also contains a compartment for placing batteries that is empty.
On the lid are two jacks, one red, one black, for connecting the positive and negative terminals of an electrode.
Of the two electrodes within the case, one has a black insulated cored and has a needle-like terminal. The other has a purple cord and a flattened, circular terminal.
Accession Number: 2024.sk.6
Alternative Name:
Primary Materials: Wood, Metal
Stamped in black ink on front of the instrument “O.R. 0955”
A white fabric label inside the case (formerly pasted to the lid) reads: “WOLFE ADAMS NERVE STIMULATOR”
A round paper tag tied to the back surface of the potentiate inside the case reads: DR FARMERS NERVE STIMULATOR”
Height = 7.5, Width = 14, Length = 21.5
A nerve stimulator applies an electrical pulse to a nerve to stimulate a muscle contraction or paresthesia (tingling or prickling sensation when a nerve is stimulated). This can help in the placement of a local anesthetic in a peripheral nerve block.
This item is in good cosmetic condition and appears to be complete. The aluminum lining of the inner case is corroded on an area of the bottom surface, likely due to a leaking battery, There are two small burn marks on the inner surface of the lid
Associated Instruments:
This example appears similar to the instrument shown in Wolfe and Adams, 1956. It may therefore have been manufactured by Custom Built Manufacturing Co., Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
Date of Manufacture: c. 1950s or 1960s
The tag within the case suggests that this instrument was used by Alfred Wells Farmer (1903 – 2002), who became the chief of surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children in 1956.
John J. Wolfe & Sam Adams (1956). “A simple, inexpensive nerve stimulator.” The American Journal of Surgery, 92(6), 929–930.
The Division of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery, University of Toronto. “Hall of Fame: Alfred Farmer, CM, MBE. MB, MD, FRCS, 1903 – 2002” Webpage. (Archived January 2, 2025).
The Wolfe-Adams Nerve Stimulator was introduced in 1956 by Dr. John J. Wolfe & Sam Adams of Louisville, Ky. It was meant both as a cheaper, less cumbersome alternative to existing nerve stimulators, and an alternative to the traditional practice of pinching the nerve with a forceps as a test.