A ‘mask’ and others as a ‘vaporiser’!!! Dr. Aliher Agzamov MD PhD

Dear Colleague

The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (AAGBI) have formed a Working Party to look at the way that anaesthesia museums classify and document the objects they look after. Many international collections have different databases which are not a problem but those who wish to search for material for research purposes are often limited by the way objects are classified.  A classic example might be an old wire frame mask which is classified by some as a ‘mask’ and others as a ‘vaporiser’!!!

We have working links at present with collections in the USA and Australia but we are sure that there are many more anaesthesia collections around the world some of whom may have already faced up to and even found a practical solution to this problem and from whom we could all learn.

I would be grateful if you could let me know of any large collections of historical anaesthesia apparatus within your country plus any contact details you have. These might be official National collections associated with your Anaesthesia Society or other collections in either private or public hands about which you have some knowledge. For example in the UK we have our Heritage Collection at the AAGBI premises in Portland Place; our Royal College of Anaesthetists has another collection; there is a British Dental Association museum with many more anaesthesia items and then a whole series of regional collections at Cardiff, Oxford, Liverpool, Sheffield, St Thomas’s Hospital etc plus public collections at the London Science Museum. These are the sorts of collections we would like to hear about.

Thank you for your help with this, and if you would like your organisation to be kept informed of our progress please send me the name and email address of the appropriate contact.

Kind regards

Dr Michael Ward,

michael.ward@nda.ox.ac.uk