In 1927, polio was a terrifying disease that could paralyze the muscles needed to breathe. Two Harvard researchers, Philip Drinker and Louis Agassiz Shaw, developed a potential solution. They built a machine from an airtight metal box powered by vacuum cleaner motors, which they called the Drinker respirator. After testing it on themselves, the real test came on October 12, 1928. An eight-year-old girl, unconscious from polio-induced respiratory failure, was placed inside. Within a minute of the machine starting, its rhythmic pressure changes forced her lungs to work. She woke up, breathing. The press dubbed the machine the "iron lung," and it became a new symbol of hope against a devastating illness. But could this one machine truly fight an epidemic?
The Iron Lung: A Machine to Breathe
The story of the iron lung, a machine that saved thousands of lives during the 20th-century polio epidemics and was first used on a patient in 1928.
The First Breath
Frequently Asked Questions
How did the iron lung actually work?
It used negative pressure. The patient's body was sealed in a metal tank, and pumps created a vacuum inside. This vacuum forced the patient's chest to expand, drawing air into the lungs. Releasing the vacuum let them exhale.
Why did doctors stop using iron lungs?
In 1952, Dr. Bjørn Ibsen showed that positive pressure ventilation—pushing air directly into the lungs via a tube—was much more effective. This discovery led to modern ventilators and the creation of Intensive Care Units (ICUs), making the iron lung obsolete.
Did anyone live in an iron lung their whole life?
Yes, a few polio survivors used them for decades. Paul Alexander lived in an iron lung for 72 years, from 1952 until his death in 2024. He even managed to earn a law degree and practice as an attorney, using a technique called 'frog breathing' to leave the machine for several hours at a time.
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