In the early 1950s, before the polio vaccine was introduced, the iron lung enabled hundreds of people to survive the debilitating disease. The massive metal machine encased patients, using air pressure to do the work of their paralyzed diaphragms and help them breathe.
But the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health faculty member who developed the iron lung—industrial hygienist Philip Drinker—viewed it as a side project.
A December 12, 2019 article in Forbes explained how the iron lung came to be. Drinker, who specialized in air safety issues in industrial environments, was on a site visit to consult on the air conditioning system at a children’s hospital. He was met by the sight of children in the grips of the polio virus, struggling through every breath. He couldn’t shake the memory of what he saw, and decided to build a machine that would replace a patient’s paralyzed diaphragm—the iron lung.
Read the Forbes article: The Iron Lung Was Just An Engineer’s Side Project
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Philip Drinker, polio, and that “damn machine” (Harvard Chan School news)