416 



Popular Science Monthly 



Saving the Asphyxiated with a 

 New Air-Pump 



THE man pictured in the photograph 

 is being revived by a kingmotor, 

 which is a resuscitating machine invent- 

 ed by two Chicago men. It competes with 

 the puhnotor in the Ufe-saving work of 

 the United States Bureau of Mines, and 

 is being adopted by hospitals, fire com- 

 panies and hfe-saving stations. Its use- 

 fuhiess extends to cases of poisoning by 



A new resuscitating machine has been invented which 

 so nicely meets any requirements that it can be operated 

 in a rocking boat or a swaying ambulance 



gases and fumes, mining accidents, elec- 

 tric shock, the reactie of persons appar- 

 ently drowned or o\-ercome by the smoke 

 of fires, cases of collapse through exces- 

 sive anesthesi#and the rescue of infants 

 asphyxiated at birth. 



The device has two independent air 

 cylinders, the pistons of both of which 

 are attached to and operated by o;ie han- 

 dle. Air is drawn into the inspiration 

 cylinder on the upstroke. On the down 

 stroke it is compressed and forced 

 through an outlet-valve into the metal 

 inspiration-tube and thence through the 

 face mask into the mouth and to the 

 lung. When the lung has been expand- 

 ed until full, its natural resilience will 



assert itself, and expel the air into the 

 expiration cylinder of the lungmotor. 

 Suction action is avoided. 



The lungmotor introduces a small vol- 

 ume of air at a time, and keeps a full 

 volume of air in the limg. The natural 

 resilience of the lung comes into opera- 

 tion as a safety-valve in forcing out ex- 

 cessive air and obviating the dangers 

 that attend the introduction of too great 

 a volume of air, which would cause ob- 

 struction to the flow of blood to the lung 



and prove disastrous to the 



patient. 



The appliance has a very 

 delicate pump-regulating 

 mechanism. A device for 

 limiting the degrees of pres- 

 sure within the lungs of the 

 patient is combined with 

 mechanism for controlling 

 the supply of air — or of 

 oxygen if oxygen is em- 

 ployed, as it may be. This 

 minimizes the possibility of 

 injury to the delicate struc- 

 ture of the lungs through 

 abnormal pressures. A num- 

 ber of stops are located at 

 different positions on the 

 piston-rod. These serve to 

 limit movement of the pis- 

 ton to be reciprocated. It 

 is, of course, necessary to 

 regulate the operation of the 

 device so as to force much 

 more air into the lungs of 

 an adult person than would 

 be used in the case of a child. 

 A limiting valve is interposed in a 

 tul)e that leads from the inspiration cyl- 

 inder or piuiip to the mouthpiece applied 

 to the patient. This limiting valve regu- 

 lates the amount of air or oxygen deliv- 

 ered to the mouthpiece and thus protects 

 the patient's lungs against pressure of the 

 air from the machine. This feature, of 

 the device is important because of the 

 hurry and confusion that is likely to exist 

 wbere a patient has collapsed. It may 

 Ijc noted in concluding that the device 

 can be operated in a rocking boat, a sway- 

 ing ambulance, or while the patient is 

 being carried on a stretcher. An oxygen 

 generator can be connected with the ma- 

 chine when needed. 



