Hotel Dieu Hospital Dept. of Anaesthesia, Kingston Collection
Category
Diagnostic & Treatment Artifacts
Classification
Cardiology
Accession Number
997008031 a-b
Description
(a) Birkmire defibrillator built into a cloth-covered wooden case with a lid hinged by two hinges at the back and closed by two clasps at the front; between the two front clasps is a leather carrying handle (now broken off) and the bottom of the case has four round plastic feet to stand it up on; t…
(a) Birkmire defibrillator built into a cloth-covered wooden case with a lid hinged by two hinges at the back and closed by two clasps at the front; between the two front clasps is a leather carrying handle (now broken off) and the bottom of the case has four round plastic feet to stand it up on; the inside lid of the case has a piece of paper with printed instructions; the inside right front of the case has a built-up rectangular-shaped powering unit; the top of this unit has power and impulse lights, an intensity bulb, an on/off switch and a push button; the back of the unit has two electrical cords coming out of it; one cord was to plug into an electrical supply; the other cord has an end which attaches to (b) two paddles, each attached to an electrical cord and joining together at a single plug; each paddle consists of a narrow rectangular bakelite handle onto which is attached a long cylindrical rubber-covered piece of metal; at the end of the metal rods, there is an attached piece of round flat metal which is covered at the front with cloth.
Number Of Parts
2
Part Names
a - defibrillator in case - Size: Length 34.8 cm. x Width 23.2 cm. x Depth 11.6 cm.
b - paddles - Size: Length 139.4 cm. x Width 14.2 cm. x Depth 2.6 cm.
Provenance
Purchased by and used at the Hotel Dieu Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
The inside operating instructions read, "BIRKMIRE DEFIBRILLATOR // Operating Instructions // [instructions follow] // BIRKOS, INCORPORATED, Manufacturers // FACTORY DISTRIBUTOR: H. S. OSBORN CO., 229 LINCOLN AVE., HAVERTOWN, PENNA."; the top of the inner powering unit reads, "BIRKMIRE DE-FIBRILLATOR // BIRKOS INC. // HAVERTOWN, PA."; individual lights, buttons and switches are labelled; the top of the carrying case has an attached piece of cloth tape with the word, "DE-FIBRILLATOR" written on it
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0007
0007-J1-4
Condition Remarks
The defibrillator arrived very dirty and dusty; the case is in good repair with only one small tear in the cloth at the bottom; the leather handle is broken off; the cord leading to the electrical supply appears to be a replacement; the cloth covering the paddles is stained and one is torn; minor corrosion is visible on the front clasps; other parts of the defibrillator are complete and undamaged; #2: dusty; metal in good condition; scratches on sides; rubber gives off foul odour.
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Person
Reference Comments
Dr. Ray Matthews
Exhibit History
On exhibit in Museum gallery - Anaesthesia exhibit, Oct. 2 1997-Sep. 13, 1999; small exhibit upstairs in museum to Jan. 2004