Archie Brain (born 2 July 1942) is a British anaesthetist best known as the inventor of the laryngeal mask. The LMA has been used over 300 million times worldwide in elective anaesthesia and emergency airway management.
Archie I J Brain | |
|---|---|
 Brain in 2009 | |
| Born | 2 July 1942 Kobe, Japan |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University of Oxford |
| Known for | Inventor of laryngeal mask airway |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Anaesthesia |
Biography
editBrain returned to the UK in April 1980 and took up a post as a lecturer at the Royal London Hospital under Professor Jimmy Payne. He set out to determine the electromagnetic field strength required to block the action potential along a nerve. This involved encircling a frog nerve-muscle preparation with an electromagnetic coil.[1] In 1982, he had his first publication: a letter to the editor suggesting that alcuronium should be used instead of succinylcholine for "crash" induction.[2]
Brain submitted patent applications for 12 new devices, including one to assist venepuncture, one to prevent obstruction of anaesthetic trolleys by cables, one to apply a specific amount of cricoid pressure, and even a rotating bed for use in intensive care to prevent bed-sores. The laryngeal mask, LMA Classic was his 13th patent application and was granted in 1982.[3] The LMA Classic was sold by LMA International NV, a company sold to Teleflex Inc in 2012 for $276m.[4]
References
edit- ^ Wali FA, Brain AIJ. Inhibition of nerve conduction by electromagnetic induction of the frog sciatic nerve – gastrocnemius muscle preparation. Jap J Physiol 1989;39:303–310.
- ^ Brain AI. The rapid induction tecnique for Caesarean section. Anaesthesia 1982;37:345.
- ^ Joseph R. Brimacombe, Laryngeal Mask Airway: Principles and Practice, Second Edition (2005), pp. 10–11.
- ^ "Teleflex to buy LMA International for $276 mln". Reuters. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
Further reading
edit- Joseph R. Brimacombe, Laryngeal Mask Airway: Principles and Practice, Second Edition, Saunders, 2005. ISBN 0-7020-2700-6