Rocking bed
| Rocking bed | |
|---|---|
 An example of a rocking bed | |
| Industry | Medical |
| Application | Treatment of polio |
| Inventor | |
| Invented |
|
The rocking bed is a device that was used as a method of treatment for poliomyelitis as an alternate method to the iron lung of artificial respiration.
History
[edit]
In 1931, Frank Cecil Eve experimented with a rocking stretcher as a means of artificial respiration. Through tilting between 30° and 45° at a rate aligned with natural breathing, Eve reported that respiration was maintained for several days.[1] In 1936, C. E. Sanders began using this bed to treat vascular disease.[2][3]
Treatment for polio
[edit]In 1944, Jessie Wright, an English-born doctor in Pittsburgh, began experimenting with the Sanders bed to treat polio.[2][1] Charlotte M. Baron, a public health nurse, oversaw the designing of the bed and by September 1946, trials were being conducted.[3][4][5]
By means of the rocking bed, patients were able to be outside of the iron lung for increasing periods of time, gradually progressing towards self-sustaining respiration.[4] A cuirass attached to a pump would create negative pressure to further increase respiratory activity.[2] By 1951, the ability for rocking beds to quicken the weaning process from the iron lung had been noted.[6] Some doctors believed that early treatment of polio could result in only usage of the rocking bed being required, and not the iron lung.[7] However, research indicated that early-stage polio could be treated well by the bed, but those in an acute stage were unable to have their needs met.[8] By 1951, over 200 rocking beds were in hospitals,[9] and by 1964, the American Journal of Nursing reported that of some 1,612 people experiencing some degree of paralysis from polio in the United States, 334 were using iron lungs and 677 were using rocking beds.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Dail, C. W.; Austin, E.; Huddleston, O. L.; Bower, A. G. (July 1951). "Use of the Rocking Bed to Augment Ventilation in Patients with Poliomyelitis". California Medicine. 75 (1): 15–25. ISSN 0008-1264. PMC 1520937. PMID 14848717.
- ^ a b c Alexander, Michael; Turk, Margaret A.; Ayyangar, Rita (September 1, 2013). "Dr. Jessie Wright: Breaking New Ground in Pediatric Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation". PM&R. 5 (9): 739–746. doi:10.1016/j.pmrj.2013.07.006. hdl:2027.42/146886. ISSN 1934-1482. PMID 23933326.
- ^ a b Wright, Jessie (July 1947). "The Respir-Aid Rocking Bed in Poliomyelitis". The American Journal of Nursing. 47 (7): 454–455. doi:10.2307/3456960. ISSN 0002-936X. JSTOR 3456960. PMID 20254536.
- ^ a b "For Polio Patients; a 'Rocking Bed' Replaces 'Iron Lung' to Help Breathing". The New York Times. July 29, 1951. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ^ Hanna, Bill (December 9, 1951). "Rocking Bed Aids St. Joseph's Polio Patients". The Lexington Herald. p. 58.
- ^ Parisi, Carmela Di Piano (June 1951). "The Patient in a Respirator". The American Journal of Nursing. 51 (6): 363. doi:10.2307/3459156. ISSN 0002-936X. JSTOR 3459156. PMID 14837963.
- ^ Maxwell, James H. (1986). "The Iron Lung: Halfway Technology or Necessary Step?". The Milbank Quarterly. 64 (1): 22. doi:10.2307/3350003. ISSN 0887-378X. JSTOR 3350003. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
- ^ Lewis, Edith (January 1952). "Medical Highlights". The American Journal of Nursing. 52 (1): 12–14. doi:10.2307/3468363. ISSN 0002-936X. JSTOR 3468363. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
- ^ "Rockabye Time for Jim Kreischer All Day Now in Polio Rocking Bed". The Daily Sentinel-Tribune. Bowling Green, OH. July 31, 1951. p. 1. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
- ^ Jeffris, Jane (September 1964). "The Best Healing Device". The American Journal of Nursing. 64 (9): 74–77. doi:10.2307/3419419. ISSN 0002-936X. JSTOR 3419419. PMID 14175819.