Basil Martin Wright (20 December 1912 – 4 March 2001) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

bioengineer who invented several notable medical instruments, including the

peak flow meter The peak expiratory flow (PEF), also called peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), is a person's maximum speed of expiration, as measured with a peak flow meter, a small, hand-held device used to monitor a person's ability to breathe out air. It measure ...

and

syringe driver A syringe driver, also known as a syringe pump, is a small infusion pump, used to gradually administer small amounts of fluid (with or without medication) to a patient or for use in chemical and biomedical research. Some syringe drivers can both ...

. The "alcolmeter" he developed won a Queen's Award for Industry and is the

breathalyser A breathalyzer or breathalyser (a portmanteau of ''breath'' and ''analyzer/analyser'') is a device for estimating blood alcohol content (BAC), or to detect viruses or diseases from a breath sample. The name is a genericized trademark of the Br ...

most often used at the road-side in the United Kingdom.

Early life

Wright was born in

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of ...

, the son of a

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

man of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, and was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, where he graduated with a first in

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

. He then proceeded to

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

and qualified as a doctor in 1938.

Career

After his time at Bart's as a medical registrar, in 1942 Wright joined the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

to work as a pathologist. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was posted to

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

, and after the war to

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, where he organized the reinstatement of medical laboratory services. He rose to the rank of Colonel, and after demobilization continued to work as a pathologist, before joining the Medical Research Council for a new unit at

Llandough Hospital University Hospital Llandough ( cy, Ysbyty Llandochau Prifysgol) is a district general hospital in Llandough, Penarth, Wales. It is managed by the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. History In the first decade the 20th century the Cardif ...

studying

pneumoconiosis Pneumoconiosis is the general term for a class of interstitial lung disease where inhalation of dust ( for example, ash dust, lead particles, pollen grains etc) has caused interstitial fibrosis. The three most common types are asbestosis, silicos ...

. The unit needed equipment which did not then exist, and Wright developed it himself. To measure lung function, in 1956 he invented the

. After the research unit's results were published in 1959, "peak flow" became a standard measure of respiratory function for most lung diseases. Millions of peak flow meters have since been produced. Wright went on to develop several other medical innovations.

References

External links

* 1912 births 2001 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British bioengineers People educated at Winchester College {{UK-engineer-stub