Narkomed Anesthesia System

WLMD ID: amkl

North American Dräger (NAD) was founded in 1968 by engineer Peter J. Schreiber and two partners in Telford, Pennsylvania. Before emigrating to the U.S. in 1966, Schreiber worked for the West German company Drägerwerk designing anesthesia equipment. The first products sold by NAD were anesthesia machines for veterinary care and anesthesia accessories.

The Narkomed, introduced in 1972, was NAD's first anesthesia machine for human patients. After the production of succeeding versions, the earliest Narkomed became known as the Narkomed Standard, or the Narkomed 1.

Some of the machine’s features came standard, while others were selected by the anesthesiologist from among a number of options. These options ranged from technical components such as the type of carbon dioxide absorber, breathing system, and monitors, to ergonomic preferences such as the number of drawers and shelves. The Narkomed described here features a proportioning device rather than the standard flowmeter bank. This proportioner is the Monitored Dial Mixer (MDM) made by Fraser Sweatman. It was the first commercially available proportioning device.

Mr. Schreiber became a driving force for the advancement of anesthesia machine design and patient safety. In addition to his patents, Schreiber authored papers in peer-reviewed journals as well as books on anesthesia machine design and safety. He was a member of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) from its inception. In 2004, the Society for Technology in Anesthesia awarded Schreiber the J. S. Gravenstein Award for lifetime achievement in that field.

Catalog Record: Narkomed Anesthesia System

Access Key: amkl

Accession No.: 2013-09-05-1

Title: Narkomed anesthesia system / North American Dräger.

Corporate Author: North American Dräger.

Title variation: Alt Title
Title: Narkomed anesthesia machine.

Title variation: Alt Title
Title: Narkomed standard.

Title variation: Alt Title
Title: Narkomed 1.

Publisher: Telford, PA. : North American Dräger, [between 1972 and 1985?].
Physical Descript: 1 anesthesia machine : metals, plastics, rubber, glass ; 129 x 102 x 81 cm.

Subject: Anesthesia Machines.

Subject: Anesthesia, Inhalation – instrumentation.
Subject: Halothane.
Subject: Vaporizers.

Note Type: General
Notes: The early year in the date range for the possible year of manufacture is an
estimate based on the earliest publication in which the machine was found to
be mentioned in as well as company literature. This example of the Narkomed
has a Monitored Dial Mixer, by Eraser-Sweatman, Inc. attached to it. Although
the Monitored Dial Mixer was introduced in 1972, the earliest advertisement
found of the Narkomed with a Monitored Dial Mixer, as opposed to the previous
flowmeter bank, was published in 1976. The end year is an estimate based on
the earliest year in which an advertisement for the Narkomed 2 was found
(19820) and the latest date that a manufacturer’s document was marked (1984).
The date range could change if documentation, or expert opinion, indicates
that it should be corrected.

Note Type: Citation
Notes: Dorsch JA, Dorsch SE. The anesthesia machine. Understanding Anesthesia
Equipment: Construction, Care and Complications. Baltimore: Williams &
Wilkins; 1984:59-65.

Note Type: Citation
Notes: Dräger Annual Report 1997. Lübeck, German : Drägerwerk AG; 1998:28-29.
https://globaldocuments.morningstar.
com/documentlibrary/document/deaf44d2046091ce.msdoc/original. Accessed
September 30, 2015.

Note Type: Citation
Notes: Fraser Sweatman, Inc. v. Schreiber: Civ. A. No. 68-1565. Leagle website.
https://www.leagle.com/decision/1968567291FSupp276_1525/FRASER%20SWEATMAN,
%20INC.%20v.%20SCHREIBER. Accessed October 16, 2015.

Note Type: Citation
Notes: Narkomed Standard: Anesthesia Machine Specifications and Equipment:
Instruction Manual. Telford, PA: North American Dräger; October 31, 1984.
[This document is the latest advertisement or manufacturer publication found
that refers to the unnumbered Narkomed (excluding the compact Narkomed) or
Narkomed Standard.]

Note Type: Citation
Notes: North American Dräger. The Dräger Narkotest-M; The Dräger Volumeter
[advertisements]. Anesthesiology. January, 1972;36(1):[page 62 of
advertisements].

Note Type: Citation
Notes: North American Dräger. New from North American Dräger [advertisement].
Anesthesiology. February, 1980;52(2):page 16 of advertisements. [Includes
images of a number of new products from North American Dräger, including a
photo of the Narkomed 2 Anesthesia System. This is the earliest advertisement
found for this machine.]

Note Type: Citation
Notes: North American Dräger. Known for our accessories … now for our machine—
Narkomed [advertisement]. Anesthesiology. March, 1973;38(3):page 23 of
advertisements. [This is the first advertisement for the Narkomed found in
“Anesthesiology”. The breathing system in this advertisement appears to be
slightly different from the breathing system on the Narkomed held by the WLM
in that the expiratory valve is attached to, and above, the volumeter and
pressure gauge on the WLM version. The Narkomed in the advertisement also has
a regular flowmeter bank as opposed to the Monitored Dial Mixer that is on
the WLM’s Narkomed. Other differences seem to be more minor, such as the
machine in the ad having a Narkotest-M, two drawers and a Penthrane Vapor in
addition to a ‘halothan’ Vapor.]

Note Type: Citation
Notes: North American Dräger. Narkomed [marketing booklet]. Telford, Pennsylvania:
North American Dräger; 1972.

Note Type: Citation
Notes: North American Dräger. Narkomed [marketing booklet]. Telford, Pennsylvania:
North American Dräger; [Date not indicated. Possibly 1972-1980?].

Note Type: Citation
Notes: North American Dräger. Narkomed: Total Anesthesia System. Anesthesiology.
April, 1976;44(4):page 63 of advertisements. [The Narkomed in this
advertisements appears to have the same breathing system as the WLM’s
Narkomed, as well as a Monitored Dial Mixer. The shelf above the Mixer
appears to have some ventilator related gauges and controls not on the WLM’s
Narkomed.]

Note Type: Citation
Notes: North American Dräger. Our customers know: that our NARKOMED Anesthesia
Breathing System … [advertisement]. Anesthesiology. July, 1974;41(7):page
39 of advertisements. [The breathing system on the machine in this
advertisement appears to be very similar to the breathing system on the WLM’s
Narkomed. This system appears to have a regular flowmeter bank rather than
the Monitored Dial Mixer.]

Note Type: Citation
Notes: Schreiber P. Anaesthesia Equipment: Performance, Classification and Safety.
New York: Springer-Verlag; 1972:195. [On this page is a photograph of an
early version of the first Narkomed anesthesia machine. a number of gauges
runs horizontally along the base of the table top, above a singer drawer. I
has a flowmeter bank that appears to be an older design than the one on
Narkomeds in advertisements from 1973 to 1975. It also appears to have two
older glass style vaporizers on the backbar, in addition to a Vapor that is
attached to an extension off the left side of the backbar and tabletop.]

Note Type: Citation
Notes: Schreiber P. Safety Guidelines for Anesthesia Systems. [Telford,
Pennsylvania]: North American Dräger; 1985.

Note Type: Citation
Notes: Sharpe B. Telford firm takes on litigious world: anesthesia machine maker
climbs to #1. The Sunday Call-Chronicle. May 12, 1985:D01.

Note Type: Citation
Notes: Society for Technology in Anesthesia. Gravenstein Lecture 2004.Interface.
July, 2004:2-3.

Note Type: Physical Description
Notes: One cabinet-style anesthesia machine; The measurements in the physical
description field were taken with the breathing circuit extended as if the
machine was in use; This machine has one drawer, which is painted blue; The
machine sits on four wheels (casters); In front, just above the drawer, along
the base of the table-top, is a push button marked “O2 FLUSH”; To the right
of the O2 flush button is a port and a pressure gauge for measuring blood
pressure; Two yokes for nitrous oxide extend from the right side of the
machine, just below the table top; One oxygen yoke extends from the back; Two
wall ports are on the back as well; One is labeled for oxygen and one for
nitrous oxide; On the back bar, just above the table top, is a “Monitored
Dial Mixer” and a “Vapor” vaporizer for halothane; A sticker on the vaporizer
spells the agent, “Halothan”; “MADE IN GERMANY” is marked on the back of the
vaporizer; Horizontally across the top of the Monitored Dial Mixer is the
following text: “NARKOMED [new line] ANESTHESIA SYSTEM [new line] NORTH
AMERICAN DRÄGER”; This area partially obscures the markings below and
underneath it for the Monitored Dial Mixer; A nitrous oxide flow-meter is of
the left side of the front of the Monitored Dial Mixer, and a flowmeter for
oxygen is on the right; Between the two flowmeters is a mixture control dial
that can be set to eight different percentages of oxygen: 30, 40, 50, 60, 70,
80, 90, 100; Below the mixture control dial is a flow control turn-knob; A
sticker on the face of the turn-knob is marked “FRASER [new line] HARLAKE”;
The sticker is loose and curled off on one side; A curved line above the turn
knob, widens on the left and narrows on the right; The specific value for the
flow rate would be indicated by the flowmeters; “Patent [new line] 3739799”
is marked slightly below and to the right of the flow turn-knob; Below the
nitrous oxide flow meter is a pressure gauge for nitrous oxide; Below the
oxygen flowmeter is a oxygen pressure gauge; The top, bottom, and lateral
sides of the housing for the Monitored Dial Mixer is the same blue as the
drawer; Most of the remainder of the machine is black or stainless steel or
chrome; Above the Monitor Dial Mixer and vaporizer is a shelf; The breathing
circuit apparatus are on a pole that extends from the left side of the
machine; The breathing system includes an inspiratory valve, Criticon O2
sensor, black rubber reservoir bag, expiratory valve, a Drager Volumeter, a
pressure gauge that measures in cm H2O from negative 20 to 80, and a dual
chamber N.A.D. carbon dioxide absorber; A label on the back of the machine is
marked with the following information: “NORTH AMERICAN DRAGER [new line] P.O.
BOX 121 [new line] TELFORD, PA. 18969 [new line] MODEL: NARKOMED [new line]
SER. NO.: #2017″.

Note Type: Reproduction
Notes: Photographed by Mr. Steve Donishe, June 8, 2015.

Note Type: Historical
Notes: The Narkomed was the first anesthesia machine produced by the manufacturer
North American Dräger (NAD), and became the first in a line of Narmomed
anesthesia machines. After the introduction of the Narkomed Compact and the
Narkomed 2, the earliest version became known as the Narkomed Standard, or
the Narkomed 1. Commercial production of the machine began in 1972.

Some of the machine’s features came standard, while others were selected by
the anesthesiologist from among a number of options. These options ranged
from technical components such as the type of carbon dioxide absorber,
breathing system, and monitors, to ergonomic preferences such as the number
of drawers and shelves. The Narkomed described here features a proportioning
device rather than the standard flowmeter bank. This proportioner is the
Monitored Dial Mixer (MDM) made by Fraser Sweatman. It was the first
commercially available proportioning device.

North American Dräger was founded in 1968 by engineer Peter J. Schreiber and
two partners in rural Telford, Pensylvania, with financial backing from the
West German company, Drägerwerk. Before emigrating to the U.S. in 1966,
Schreiber worked for Drägerwerk designing anesthesia equipment. The first
products sold by NAD were anesthesia machines for veterinary care and
anesthesia accessories, such as the Dräger Volumeter (for measuring
respiratory volume) and Narkotest-M (for measuring halothane concentrations).

Mr. Schreiber became a driving force for the advancement of anesthesia
machine design and patient safety. In addition to his patents, Schreiber
authored papers in peer-reviewed journals as well as books on anesthesia
machine design and safety. He was a member of the Anesthesia Patient Safety
Foundation (APSF) from its inception in 1985, and served on its board in 1998
In 2004, the Society for Technology in Anesthesia awarded him the J. S.
Gravenstein Award for lifetime achievement in that field

Note Type: Publication
Notes: Murphy RE Jr. A step ahead: North American Drager has hammerlock of its very
own. Intelligencer. Sunday, February 12, 1989:B-1, B-20.

Note Type: Publication
Notes: Young SG. Firm’s president is also author, lecturer. Intelligencer. Sunday,
June 7, 1981:D1.

Note Type: Publication
Notes: Young SG. Medical firm opens the door to China. Intelligencer. Sunday, June 7
1981:D1.

Note Type: Exhibition
Notes: Selected for the WLM website (noted September, 2015).