David S. Sheridan Equipment

David S. Sheridan (10 July 1908, Brooklyn – 29 April 2004, Argyle, New York) was the inventor of the "disposable" plastic endotracheal tube.

David was the second of six sons of Adolf and Anna Sockolof, who immigrated to the United States from Russia. He changed his name from Sockolof to Sheridan in 1939. He attended school until 8th grade when he went to work with his father and brothers in the hardwood flooring business.

David Sheridan was the inventor of the modern "disposable" plastic endotracheal tube now used routinely in surgery.[1] Previous to his invention, red rubber tubes were used, then sterilized, and re-used which often lead to the spread of disease and also a high risk of infection.[citation needed] Sheridan is thus credited with saving thousands of lives.[citation needed]

He held more than 50 medical instrument patents and is credited with inventing the modern disposable catheter in the 1940s.[1] In his lifetime he started and sold four catheter companies and was dubbed the "Catheter King" by Forbes Magazine in 1988.[1]

Sheridan died in New York at the age of 95.

read more...

Boyle's machine

In medicine Boyle's machine is the name given to the continuous flow apparatus used by anesthesiologists to administer general anesthesia to patients (human or veterinary) in operation theaters.

Medical grade oxygen, nitrous oxide and inhalation anaesthetics can be administered to patients, who are either breathing spontaneously or who have been paralysed for the course of the surgical procedure using neuromuscular blocking drugs. Two breathing systems are usually present on the machine, one is the Magill's circuit or a universal Bain's breathing system, and less commonly, a circle absorber utilising sode lime granules to remove carbondioxide exhaled by the patient.

The British anesthesiologist, Dr. Henry Edmund Gaskin Boyle is credited with designing the first anesthesia machine, hence the name. Henry Edmund Gaskin Boyle (2 April 1875 – 15 October 1941) was a pioneering anaesthesiologist. Originally born in Barbados; he qualified MRCS LRCP from St Bartholomew's Hospital, London. He is best remembered for the development of early anesthetic machines. Even until recently, an anesthesia machine for administering general anesthesia would often be referred to as a "Boyle's Machine" in honor of his contribution in this field. His design included cylinders for medical oxygen, nitrous oxide and a "Boyle's Bottle" to vaporize diethyl ether. His other contribution to anesthesia included the Boyle-Davis gag, which is still used today during tonsillectomy operations.

The British Oxygen Company (BOC) marketed their anaesthesia machines under the Boyle name in India, for a number of years. These devices were manufactured by the welding giant ESAB India Ltd.'s factory at Kolkata, India. Following the merger of healthcare business of BOC (Ohmeda) with Datex, with the new entity being called Datex-Ohmeda, the ESAB manufacturing facility at Kolkata started selling their anesthesia machines directly to distributors, located all over India.

However, with the acquisition of Datex-Ohmeda by GE Healthcare, Boyle machines are now again being sold in India. These are being manufactured by a contractor for Datex-Ohmeda.

The Boyle trade-mark is registered with Boyle HealthCare Pvt. Ltd. an Indore MP India based company, headed by Dr. Atul Dixit,MD (anesthesiology). They are holding all rights to this trademark after registration with the registrar of trade marks and patents, government of India. GE Datex-Ohmeda Bangalore India are infringing on Boyle HealthCare's rights by selling their anesthesia machines under the 'Boyle' label.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyle%27s_machine"

read more...

bispectral index (BIS)

A bispectral index (BIS) monitor is a neurophysiological monitoring device which continually analyses a patient's electroencephalograms during general anaesthesia to assess the level of consciousness during anaesthesia. The "depth of anaesthesia" is commonly used as a surrogate for "the likelihood of forming experiences or memory", known as surgical awareness. The use of BIS monitors is increasing.

At least one professional body has announced recommendations that BIS be used routinely. The Sociedad de Anestesiología Reanimación y Terapéutica del Dolor de Madrid recommends monitoring of anaesthetic depth in accordance with literature-based evidence. BIS, however, is not explicitly endorsed. In fact, they cite an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) statement saying that the decision for cerebral function monitoring should be made on an individual basis.[1]

The efficacy of BIS index monitoring is not without controversy.[2] Some controlled studies have found that using the BIS reduced the incidence of memory but this was not confirmed in several very large multicenter studies on awareness.

read more...

Anaesthetic vaporiser

Historically, ether (the first volatile agent) was first used by John Snow's inhaler (1847) but was superseded by the use of chloroform (1848). Ether then slowly made a revival (1862–1872) with regular use via Curt Schimmelbusch's "mask", a narcosis mask for dripping liquid ether. Now obsolete, it was a mask constructed of wire, and covered with cloth.
Pressure and demand from dental surgeons for a more reliable method of administrating ether helped modernise its delivery. In 1877, Clover invented an ether inhaler with a water jacket, and by the late 1899 alternatives to ether came to the fore, mainly due to the introduction of spinal anaesthesia. Subsequently this resulted in the decline of ether (1930–1956) use due to the introduction of cyclopropane, trichloroethylene, and halothane. By the 1980s, the anaesthetic vaporiser had evolved considerably; subsequent modifications lead to a raft of additional safety features such as temperature compensation, a bimetallic strip, temperature-adjusted splitting ratio and anti-spill measures.

read more...