Archie Brain
Encyclopedia
Archie Brain is a British anesthetist best known as the inventor of the laryngeal mask airway
or LMA. The LMA is used worldwide in elective anesthesia
and emergency airway management
.
, Japan
to a British diplomat family. He won a scholarship to the University of Oxford
and eventually decided to attend medical school, also at Oxford, with clinical training at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London
. After obtaining a diploma in anaesthetics, he worked in Holland and the Seychelles
, returning to the UK in 1980 to accept a post at the Royal London Hospital
. Brain worked on several research projects, one of the them being the prototype laryngeal mask airway, for which he received a patent in 1982. He described the device in a now classic paper published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia
.
There was initially little interest among the anesthesia community in this new airway device but Brain saw its potential and worked to further improve it, developing a number of prototypes over the next several years. Commercial production of the laryngeal mask began in 1987, about the same time that the induction agent propofol
was gaining in popularity. Propofol was ideal with the use of the laryngeal mask since it depressed the airway reflexes more effectively than sodium thiopental
, allowing easier insertion of the device.
Brain worked tirelessly to promote the laryngeal mask, and the British anaesthesia community responded enthusiastically, using the device in over 500 hospitals by 1989. After approval by the Food and Drug Administration
in 1991, its use grew in the United States and it has been used in millions of patients worldwide. Brain has continued development on the device, introducing a series of specialized LMAs. He currently lectures internationally.
Laryngeal mask airway
The laryngeal mask airway is a supraglottic airway device invented by Archie Brain, a British anaesthetist.-Description:Laryngeal masks consist of a tube with an inflatable cuff that is inserted into the pharynx. Laryngeal mask airways come in a variety of sizes ranging from large adult to infant...
or LMA. The LMA is used worldwide in elective anesthesia
Anesthesia
Anesthesia, or anaesthesia , traditionally meant the condition of having sensation blocked or temporarily taken away...
and emergency airway management
Airway management
In cardiopulmonary resuscitation, anaesthesia, emergency medicine, intensive care medicine and first aid, airway management is the process of ensuring that:# there is an open pathway between a patient’s lungs and the outside world, and...
.
Biography
Archie Ian Jeremy Brain was born in KobeKobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to a British diplomat family. He won a scholarship to the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and eventually decided to attend medical school, also at Oxford, with clinical training at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. After obtaining a diploma in anaesthetics, he worked in Holland and the Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
, returning to the UK in 1980 to accept a post at the Royal London Hospital
Royal London Hospital
The Royal London Hospital was founded in September 1740 and was originally named The London Infirmary. The name changed to The London Hospital in 1748 and then to The Royal London Hospital on its 250th anniversary in 1990. The first patients were treated at a house in Featherstone Street,...
. Brain worked on several research projects, one of the them being the prototype laryngeal mask airway, for which he received a patent in 1982. He described the device in a now classic paper published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia
British Journal of Anaesthesia
BJA: British Journal of Anaesthesia is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, of which it is the official journal. It was established in 1923 and covers all aspects of anaesthesia. The current editor-in-chief is...
.
There was initially little interest among the anesthesia community in this new airway device but Brain saw its potential and worked to further improve it, developing a number of prototypes over the next several years. Commercial production of the laryngeal mask began in 1987, about the same time that the induction agent propofol
Propofol
Propofol is a short-acting, intravenously administered hypnotic agent. Its uses include the induction and maintenance of general anesthesia, sedation for mechanically ventilated adults, and procedural sedation. Propofol is also commonly used in veterinary medicine...
was gaining in popularity. Propofol was ideal with the use of the laryngeal mask since it depressed the airway reflexes more effectively than sodium thiopental
Sodium thiopental
Sodium thiopental, better known as Sodium Pentothal , thiopental, thiopentone sodium, or Trapanal , is a rapid-onset short-acting barbiturate general anaesthetic...
, allowing easier insertion of the device.
Brain worked tirelessly to promote the laryngeal mask, and the British anaesthesia community responded enthusiastically, using the device in over 500 hospitals by 1989. After approval by the Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
in 1991, its use grew in the United States and it has been used in millions of patients worldwide. Brain has continued development on the device, introducing a series of specialized LMAs. He currently lectures internationally.
Further reading
- Joseph R. Brimacombe, Laryngeal Mask Airway: Principles and Practice, Second Edition, Saunders, 2005. ISBN 0-7020-2700-6