Health Sciences · Hospital for Sick Children
A black-coloured rectangular instrument with white markings. The instrument has a series of ports, knobs, and switches on its front face, as well as a strip of LED diodes indicating pressure in cm H2O. An electrical cord is attached to the back of the instrument. Also at the back of the instrument is a bracket with a threaded clamp, presumably for attaching the instrument to a stand.
Accession Number: 2025.sk.32
Alternative Name:
Primary Materials: Metal
Affixed to the top of the instrument is a green adhesive label from Hospital for Sick Children (HSC) Medical Engineering. This lists the following information: “DATE July 2016// DUE July 2017// LOCAL [unreadable]// TECH L.C.”
Below this is a white label that reads: “MRI COMPATIBLE”
Five white labels, affixed to the left side and arranged vertically, read as follows: “DEPT OF MED ENG”, “LOW PRESSURE ALARM WITH BAR GRAPH MANOMETER”, “MODEL 8211A”, “SN K”, “CN D1204”.
A “Special Inspection Health Care Equipment” label affixed to the right side includes a “Special Inspection Service” label with the printed text “F 04216”. Much of the information that is written on this label is too faded to read, but it seems to repeat the information marked on the left side.
Affixed to the back are two white labels with electrical information. They read: “FUSE AGC 1.25A” and “120 VAC 1250 MA 60 HZ”
Height = 11.5, Width = 15.5, Length = 21.
The airway pressure monitor sounds an alarm when a ventilator circuit has malfunctioned and a preset high or low pressure limit has been exceeded.
This example is a evolution of a airway pressure monitor that was first designed for the Hospital for Sick Children in the early 1960s.
This artifact is in good cosmetic condition with no obvious damage beyond light wear on various surfaces, especially edges.
Associated Instruments:
Manufacturer: Hispital for Sick Children
Date of Manufacture: c. 1980s – 1990s
Provenance:
Additional Information and References:
The following information is based on email correspondence in 2025 between John Coutlee and SickKids anaesthetist Dr. Elaine Ng:
The airway pressure alarm was first built at the Hospital for Sick Children in the early 1960s. It was used on a Swedish-made Engstrome volume ventilator used in I.C.U. The instrument was built using a diaphragm taken from a pressure gauge and mechanical electrical contacts used to sound a buzzer alarm. The mechanism was housed in an enclosure locally made from a single sheet of metal.
The first electronic models were built in the early 1970s. The design was incrementally improved over time. New features included a battery backup that could sound an alarm in case of a power outage. This is a later model with pressure limits using a light bar graph LED display.
This model of airway pressure alarm was used at several hospitals in the GTA.