PORTHOLE MIRROR MEDICINE CABINET ARCHIVE

I know that all of you have seen the Titanic – the movie.

When it tilted the other way, gravity pushed the internal organs up on to the diaphragm, pushing air out of the lungs.Pinterest Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Tumblr Email As the head of the bed tilted upwards, gravity pulled the internal organs downwards, drawing air into the lungs. And there was always a helpless terror – wondering whether they’d close the tank in time.Īs chest muscle strength returned some patients were transferred to rocking beds, which used gravity to help with breathing. I’d have to strain my every fibre for a breath of air. The technique sounds straightforward, but in practice learning to breathe again was a difficult and frightening process, as one patient, Kenneth Kingery recalled:

By slowly extending the time outside the cabinet the patient could gradually build up the muscles to the point where they could spend most of the day outside the iron lung, returning to it at night to give tired bodies time to rest. Therapists used several techniques to help patients regain strength in their chest muscles. Most patients only used the iron lung for a few weeks or months depending on the severity of the polio attack, but those left with their chest muscles permanently paralysed by the disease faced a lifetime of confinement. They used dolls to explain what would happen to them during treatment. Polio particularly affected young children, and it was especially difficult for them to understand what was happening to them. Lord Mayor Treloar Hospital in Hampshire specialised in the treatment of children affected by tuberculosis and polio. In larger iron lung wards they had other patients nearby to provide companionship and psychological support but visiting hours for family were limited. They could also read books suspended in front of their faces if someone turned the pages for them. A mirror could be attached above the patient’s head, so they could see what was happening around them. One of the biggest problems for patients was boredom. Polio patient, United States, 1930s-1950s. Image source for Boy in an iron lung, his smiling face is seen in a mirror attached to the machine, 1930s-1950s.

PORTHOLE MIRROR MEDICINE CABINET ARCHIVE

In court, Emerson's lawyers demonstrated that all the technologies used by Drinker already existed and so could not be patented.ĪP / Steve & Mary DeGenaro / Boston Children’s Hospital Archive / AARC’s Virtual Museum He made the bed slide in and out of the cabinet and added portholes to the sides allowed access to the patient without loss of air pressure.ĭrinker and Harvard University felt that the Emerson respirator was too similar to the original and sued Emerson for infringing on their patents. In 1931, John Haven Emerson improved on the ‘Drinker’ design by improving access to the patient. Mechanical breathing apparatus were not a new idea, but the huge scale of the polio epidemics motivated researchers to come up with a device.

A tight rubber seal supported the neck and ensured that air did not escape. The whole body was enclosed in an airtight chamber, apart from the head. It consisted of a huge metal box with a set of bellows attached at one end to pump air in and out. Philip Drinker and Louis Agassiz Shaw invented the first iron lung at Harvard School of Public Health.

Porthole mirror medicine cabinet