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Indemnity4 t1_jcj0kgm wrote

Reply to comment by _night_flight_ 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

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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