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_night_flight_ t1_jc68rtd wrote

Reply to comment by Lynxesandlarynxes in Why is death by respiratory failure in cases when the problem is only muscular (and not a problem with the lungs themselves) so prevalent? why is it so hard to assist respiration long term? Why are ventilators so unsophisticated and brutal on the lungs? by Eschatologists

What about those old-fashioned iron lung machines from decades ago, didn't people live with those for years?

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Indemnity4 t1_jcj0kgm wrote

Iron lungs are huge! You need a dedicated room.

Iron lungs still exist, but use massively declined after the 1960s. They are too cumbersome and restrict movement, compared to a significantly smaller and mobile positive pressure unit.

The stat was something like only 10 units still existed in USA in the 2010's. There were only two people in 2020's.

Only real use now is novel development post-Covid for patients who need limited assistance and can't tolerate a ventilator. An example may be a person who only needs the negative pressure unit at night.

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