Mechanical ventilator

History

In 1949, John Haven Emerson developed a mechanical assister for anaesthesia with the cooperation of the anaesthesia department at Harvard University. Mechanical ventilators began to be used increasingly in anaesthesia and intensive care during the 1950s. Their development was stimulated both by the need to treat polio patients and the increasing use of muscle relaxants during anaesthesia. Relaxant drugs paralyse the patient and improve operating conditions for the surgeon but also paralyse the respiratory muscles. In 1953 Bjørn Aage Ibsen set up what became the world's first Medical/Surgical ICU utilizing muscle relaxants and controlled ventilation.