Foregger Autogenor
The inventor of the Autogenor, Richard von Foregger, PhD (1872-1960) was a chemist and engineer. He was born in Vienna, Austria in 1872 and settled in the United States in 1902. In 1905 he began investigations into generating breathable oxygen from the compound sodium peroxide (Na2O2, also known as Oxone). He found that Na2O2 easily releases its oxygen (O2) when in contact with water, and designed an apparatus that would produce oxygen and then store and deliver it under pressures of up to 50 pounds per square inch. In 1908 Dr. Foregger applied to patent this oxygen generator under his then employer, The Roessler & Hasslacher Chemical Company. It became known as the Autogenor and was novel for providing an easily portable and adjustable source of oxygen under pressure. These qualities made it especially useful to anesthesiologists who needed pressurized gas to administer oxygen with the anesthetic. Dr. Foregger later founded an anesthesia equipment manufacturing firm, The Foregger Company.
Catalog Record: Foregger Autogenor Foregger Autogenor
Access Key: akdq
Accession No.: 2012-11-21-1
Title: Autogenor / The Foregger Co. Inc.
Author: Foregger, Richard von, 1872-1960.
Corporate Author: Foregger Company.
Publisher: New York : Foregger Co., [1914-1950].
Physical Description: 1 oxygen generator : metal, nickel, rubber, glass ; 39 x 20.5 x 17 cm.
Subject: Oxygen – instrumentation.
Subject: Anesthesia, Inhalation – instrumentation.
Subject: Nitrous Oxide.
Subject: Ether, Ethyl.
Web Link: http://woodlibrarymuseum.org/museum/item/648/foregger-autogenor
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Directions to charge the Autogenor … Date unknown. Foregger Company files. Located at: Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Park Ridge, Illinois.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Foregger R. Gwathmey. Anesthesiology. 1944;5(3):296-299.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Foregger R. Richard von Foregger, Ph.D., 1872-1960: manufacturer of anesthesia equipment. Anesthesiology. 1996;84(1):190-200.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: McMechan FH. Vapor anesthesia for intraoral surgery. Am J Surg: Q Suppl Anesth Analg. April, 1916;30(4) (suppl):60-61.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: Neumark AS. Peroxides and per-salts–II: their preparation, properties and uses in the arts and industries. Sci Am. March 29, 1913;75(suppl. 1943):200-201.
Note Type: Citation
Notes: von Foregger R, inventor; Roessler & Hasslacher Chemical Co, assignee. Gas-generator. US patent 916,291. March 23, 1909.
Note Type: Physical Description
Notes: 1 nickel plated apparatus for generating oxygen and temporarily holding and releasing the oxygen under pressure; The nickel plating has some dotting of corrosion and signs of wear; The body of the generator is conical in shape, measuring approx. 16.5 cm in dia. at the base and 10 cm dia. at the top; The rounded cover is secured to the base with two latches; Extending from the top-center of the cover is a turn knob for adjusting a needle valve; Near the needle-valve knob, a pressure gauge extends at about a 45 degree angle from the cover; The gauge is marked in numbers with bold lines from 0 to 60; Between the bold lines are shorter, thin lines indicating increments of 2; When facing the pressure gauge, a safety valve extends vertically from the right side of the cover, and a gas outlet extends horizontally from the left side of the cover; Attached to the gas outlet is a metal extension that curves outward and then downward into a black rubber stopper inserted into a glass test tube; The stopper has a second opening for an outlet of gas that has been passed over or bubbled through a liquid anesthetic, such as ether; Marked on the generator’s cover is, “AUTOGENOR”; Marked on the pressure gauge is, “THE [new line] FOREGGER CO. INC. [new line] NEW YORK”; Extending down from the underside of the generator’s cover is a cylindrical inner container and a medal tube at its side; The metal tube is approx. 18.5 cm in length and 8 mm dia. (5 mm internal dia.); The inner cylinder is suspended below the cover by an approx 7 cm tube or neck; The inner cylinder is open at the lower end, and measures approx. 20.4 cm long and 6.6 cm in dia.; A removable perforated sheet is held within the inner cylinder, approx. 5 cm above the lower end; The inside is corroded from use.
Note Type: Historical
Notes: The inventor of the Autogenor, Richard von Foregger, PhD, was a chemist and engineer. He was born in Vienna, Austria in 1872 and settled in the United States in 1902. In 1905 he began investigations into generating breathable oxygen from the compound sodium peroxide (Na2O2, also known as Oxone). He found that Na2O2 easily releases its oxygen (O2) when in contact with water, and designed an apparatus that would produce oxygen and then store and deliver it under pressures of up to 50 pounds per square inch. In 1908 Dr. Foregger applied to patent this oxygen generator under his then employer, The Roessler & Hasslacher Chemical Company. It became known as the Autogenor and was especially novel for providing an easily portable and adjustable source of oxygen under pressure. These qualities made it especially useful to anesthesiologists who needed pressurized gas to administer oxygen with the anesthetic. Dr. Foregger later founded an anesthesia equipment manufacturing firm, The Foregger Company.
Note Type: Publication
Notes: McMechan FH. Oxygen and anesthesia. Int J Surg. June, 1913;26(6):205-209.
Note Type: Publication
Notes: A new oxygen generator. NY Med J. November 17, 1906;84:1007-1008.
Note Type: Publication
Notes: A practical and economical method of exhibiting oxygen. Med Critic Guide. September, 1913;16(19):329-330.
Note Type: Publication
Notes: von Foregger R, inventor; Roessler & Hasslacher Chemical Co, assignee. Apparatus for regenerating air. US patent 915,760. March 23, 1909.
Note Type: Exhibition
Notes: Selected for the WLM website.
