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.
Vitalograph Spirometer, 1969. From Drew CDM, Hughes DTD. Characteristics of the Vitalograph Spirometer,Thorax, 1969; 24: 703
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. ”
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.
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.
Vitalograph Spirometer, Model S, 1980. Probably the first computer-based system from Vitalograph. From InfoWorld Sep 15, 1980, page 22.
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.
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.
Vitalograph Spirotrac III, 1991. From Respiratory Care, 1991, Volume 36, No. 12, page 1363.
Vitalograph Spirometer, 1992, Diagram. From “Pulmonary Function Testing: A Practical Approach” by Jack Wanger, published by Williams and Wilkins, 1992, page 11.
Vitalograph Spirometer, 1992. From “Pulmonary Function Testing: A Practical Approach” by Jack Wanger, published by Williams and Wilkins, 1992, page 11.
Vitalograph Alpha Spirometer, circa 1990. Pneumotach-based. Found on a DotMed listing.
The complete Vitalograph product line, 1994. From Respiratory Care, 1994, Volume 39, No. 12, page 1140.
Vitalograph Spirometer, model 2150, 2006. From Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Primary Care, By Margaret Barnett, published by John Wiley & Sons, 2006, page 48.