Some examples of industry contributions to the history of anesthesia

Abstract

Anesthesia evolved through joint contributions by clinicians, investigators, and industry. For example, physician Squibb formed Squibb Pharmaceutical in 1858, to make a purer form of ether. High pressure cylinders made in the late 1800s enabled the economical use of N 2 O and O 2. Dentist-manufacturers developed reducing valves and metering devices, tubing, fittings, and masks'and thus the anesthesia machine. Shukys at Ohio Chemical/Airco synthesized the first commercial fluorinated inhaled anesthetic, fluroxene, in 1953. In parallel, Suckling, at Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), synthesized halothane, the anesthetic of the 1960s. Safety required precise control of its concentration. Foregger's support of Morris' 1953 development of the Copper Kettle made this possible. In the 1950s, Edmonson and Jones organized Cyprane Ltd to make the Fluotec, the first variable bypass vaporizer directly indicating the concentration of anesthetic. Ayerst donated the Fluotec to US hospitals to capture the market for both halothane and the Fluotec.