Vitalograph

Vitalograph Ltd began as a medical distributor named Garther in the 1950’s.  The company developed the original wedge bellows spirometer at the request of the British Medical Research Council Pneumoconiosis Panel in 1963 and changed the company name at that time.  The original Vitalograph wedge spirometer was retired around 2000 and replaced with a variety of pneumotachometer-based spirometer.


Spirometer_Vitalograph_1979

Vitalograph Spirometer, 1969.   From Drew CDM, Hughes DTD.  Characteristics of the Vitalograph Spirometer,Thorax, 1969; 24: 703


spirometer_vitalograph_1970

Vitalograph Spirometer, Model S, 1970.  Found on the Steno Museum Website.  Described there (via Google Translate) as “h: 24cm x W: 39.5 cm xl: 38.5 cm.  Green body with a curved front side on which there is a red and a plate type. You place a piece of paper on the red plate and appliance draw as the result of the test down that end. On the front is also pipes – this is what the patient breathes in, so the speed and amount of air can be measured.  The unit is a cord with on-off switch and a catalog concerning measurement of lung ventilation and spirometry. ”


spirometer_vitalograph_1970_stylus_close_up

Vitalograph Spirometer, 1970, Model S, Stylus close-up.  Found on the Steno Museum Website.  The Vitalograph spirometer used pressure-sensitive paper that was placed in a curved plate on the front of the spirometer.  The stylus was attached to the bellows and motor moved the plate sideways during a spirometry test, causing a volume-time curve to be drawn on the paper.


Spirometry_Vitalograph_1974

Vitalograph Spirometer, 1974.  From: Survey of Current Cardiovascular and Respiratory Examination Methods in Medical Selection and Control of Aircrew by A. Scano, NATO Agardograph No. 196, published December 1974 page 88.


Spirometer_Vitalograph_1980

Vitalograph Spirometer, Model S, 1980.  Probably the first computer-based system from Vitalograph.  From InfoWorld Sep 15, 1980, page 22.


Spirometer_Vitalograph_Model_R_1987

Vitalograph Spirometer, Model R, 1987.  From Office Spirometry. A practical guide to the selection and use of spirometers.  By PL Enright and RE Hyatt.  Published by Lea and Febiger, 1987.  Page 97.


Spirometer_Vitalograph_Compact_1987

Vitalograph Compact, 1987.  Used an un-heated Fleisch pneumotach.  From Office Spirometry. A practical guide to the selection and use of spirometers.  By PL Enright and RE Hyatt.  Published by Lea and Febiger, 1987.  Page 123.


Spirometer_Vitalograph_Spirotrac_III_1991_Advertisement

Vitalograph Spirotrac III, 1991.  From Respiratory Care, 1991, Volume 36, No. 12, page 1363.


Spirometer_Vitalograph_1992_Diagram

Vitalograph Spirometer, 1992, Diagram.  From “Pulmonary Function Testing: A Practical Approach” by Jack Wanger, published by Williams and Wilkins, 1992, page 11.


Spirometer_Vitalograph_1992

Vitalograph Spirometer, 1992.  From “Pulmonary Function Testing: A Practical Approach” by Jack Wanger, published by Williams and Wilkins, 1992, page 11.


Spirometer_Vitalograph_Alpha_1990s

Vitalograph Alpha Spirometer, circa 1990.  Pneumotach-based.  Found on a DotMed listing.


Spirometers_Vitalograph_1994_Product_Line_Advertisement

The complete Vitalograph product line, 1994.  From Respiratory Care, 1994, Volume 39, No. 12, page 1140.


Spirometer_Vitalograph_2150_circa_2000

Vitalograph Spirometer, model 2150, 2006.  From Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Primary Care,  By Margaret Barnett, published by John Wiley & Sons, 2006, page 48.

The diverse, quirky and mostly forgotten history of Pulmonary Function testing