Drinker-Collings Respirator

During the 1950s, iron lungs were state-of-the-art technology in the fight against polio. The machine breathed for patients if their breathing muscles stopped working.
This Drinker-Collins duplex iron lung was purchased as a backup for a child in Maine. Iron lungs were an essential part of polio recovery, and once you had one, your worst fear was a breakdown or power outage. This duplex iron lung could fit one adult or two children.