1928

Invention of the iron lung by Philip Drinker, “the first assemblage of parts . . . that transmitted energy and motion (via electrically driven blowers) from one segment to another for the purpose of performing a life-saving task” (Rothman II, 42). It was only effective for those polio patients in which the virus paralyzed the intercostal muscles of the diaphragm, impeding the ability to breathe. It was not useful for other forms of polio (e.g., bulbar polio, which damaged the nerve cells in the brain’s breathing center). “Even as the strengths and limitations of the technology were better appreciated, the drive to make the machine available to all who might possibly need it accelerated” (48). The drive was spearheaded by the NFIP which, beginning in 1941, began purchasing machines and distributing them to regional centers around the country (50).