Rocking bed

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Rocking bed
Wellcome Collection Rocking Bed.jpg
An example of a rocking bed
IndustryMedical
ApplicationTreatment of polio
Inventor
Invented
  • 1931
  • 1944 (for polio)

The rocking bed was used for artificial respiration in the treatment of poliomyelitis as an alternative to the iron lung.

Contents

History

A newspaper illustration showing a rocking bed Polio Rocking Bed comic.png
A newspaper illustration showing a rocking bed

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, Sanders began using this bed to treat vascular disease. [2] [3]

Treatment for polio

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]

Using the rocking bed, patients were able to spend increasing periods outside the iron lung, gradually progressing toward self-sustaining respiration. [4] A cuirass attached to a pump would create negative pressure to increase respiratory activity further. [2] By 1951, the ability of 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

  1. 1 2 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.
  2. 1 2 3 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.
  3. 1 2 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.
  4. 1 2 "For Polio Patients; a 'Rocking Bed' Replaces 'Iron Lung' to Help Breathing". The New York Times. July 29, 1951. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  5. ↑ Hanna, Bill (December 9, 1951). "Rocking Bed Aids St. Joseph's Polio Patients". The Lexington Herald. p. 58 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ "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– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ 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.
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