A NEW OR IMPROVED HOT AIR BATH OR APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OF DISEASES OF THE HUMAN BODY
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Galbraith, of Crawford Square, in the Town and
County of Londonderry, for the Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED HOT
AIR BATH OR APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OF DISEASES OF THE HUMAN
BODY."
Sealed the 19th January 1877, and dated the 1st November 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Galbraith at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st November 1876.
THOMAS GALBRAITH, of Crawford Square, in the Town and County of London-
derry. "A NEW OR IMPROVED HOT AIR BATH OR APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT
OF DISEASES OF THE HUMAN BODY."
This Invention relates to a new or improved arrangement or construction of
apparatus applicable for the treatment of diseases of the human body, and it consists
of a steam boiler or generator which is connected by a pipe to a steam chamber
composed of a hollow casing forming three sides of a square, or of other suitable
form. At the interior of the hollow casing a coil of pipe is placed, one end thereof
being in communication with a bellows or other air forcing apparatus, whilst its
other end communicates with the space enclosed by the three sides of the steam
chamber. The air in passing through the coil within the steam chamber is heated
to any desired extent.
With the arrangement of steam chamber before set forth its three sides also
constitute three sides of the hot air chamber or bath, the fourth side thereof being
the bed or couch whereon the patient is laid. The ends of the said chamber are
closed in with blankets or other coverings, so as to prevent the outward passage of
the heated air, which is thus caused to act directly on the part of the patient's body
under treatment, this being the part covered by the chamber.
The apparatus herein-before described may be employed in the treatment of
different diseases of male or female patients; such for example as lumbago, sciatica,
typhoid, or gout, but it is especially applicable for the treatment of the diseases
incidental to females after childbirth, or in cases of inflammation of the womb or
bowels, or of recent or chronic congestion of the same, and of similar disorders, and
when internal application of heat is necessary a tube is connected to the exit orifice
of the hot air coil herein-before referred to.

page_text: The steam after passing through the steam chamber is conducted away from the
apparatus by a pipe connected thereto, and drain taps are also provided to draw off
the water of condensation.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Thomas Galbraith in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 30th April
1877.
THOMAS GALBRAITH, of Crawford Square, in the Town and County of London-
derry. "A NEW OR IMPROVED HOT AIR BATH OR APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT
OF DISEASES OF THE HUMAN BODY."
My said Invention relates to a new or improved arrangement or construction of
apparatus applicable for the treatment of diseases of the human body, and it consists
of a steam boiler or generator which is connected by a pipe to a steam chamber
composed of a hollow casing forming three sides of a square, or of other suitable
form. At the interior of the hollow casing coils of pipes are placed, one end of each
being in connection with a bellows or other air forcing apparatus, whilst their
other ends communicate with the space enclosed by the three sides of the steam
chamber. The air when passing through the coils within the steam chamber is
heated to the desired extent.
With the arrangement of steam chamber before set forth its three sides also
constitute three sides of the hot air bath or chamber, the fourth side thereof being
the bed or couch whereon the patient is laid, and the ends of the said chamber are
closed in with blankets or other covering, so as to prevent as much as possible the
outward passage of the heated air, which is thus caused to act directly on the part
of the patient's body under treatment which is the part covered by the apparatus.
The blankets or other covering may be so arranged as to cover or envelop the
patient's whole body when considered necessary; or the apparatus may be placed in
a box and used as a box bath.
The apparatus herein-before described may be employed in the treatment of
different diseases of male or female patients, but it is especially applicable for the
treatment of the diseases incidental to females after childbirth, and all cases of
recent or chronic congestion.
And when internal application of heat is necessary by the mouth or otherwise a
tube is connected to the exit orifice of the hot air coil required for that purpose.
In all cases where acids, gases, or any substances require to be injected internally
the necessary apparatus can be applied to the entrance or exit orifice of the hot air
coil required for that purpose.
The steam after passing through the steam chamber is conducted away from the
apparatus by a pipe connected thereto, and drain taps are also provided to draw off
the water of condensation.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood I have
hereunto appended an explanatory Sheet of Drawings, in the several Figures of
which the same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts; that is to say,
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the entire apparatus; Figure 2, a plan of the
same; Figure 3, a front elevation of the bath; and Figure 4, a front elevation of
the boiler.
In Figures 1 and 2 the boiler is marked A, and it is by preference so shaped as
to admit of being easily placed in the hollow space over an ordinary house or
bedroom fire-grate. The upper part of the boiler is provided with a pipe and filler
B for admitting water to the boiler, the pipe being fitted with a coupling not
shown in the Drawings, for convenience in packing. The feed pipe being always
open to the atmosphere acts as a safeguard in case of the safety valve getting out
of order. The height of water in the boiler is regulated by the tap or cock C,

page_text: through which any water above the level of the cock C is drawn off; the height of
the water in the boiler is at all times shown by the glass water guage attached to
it. The boiler is provided at each side with a handle D for holding it when placing
it on or taking it off the fire, or for otherwise moving it about. The boiler is also
furnished with a safety valve for preventing the steam from rising above a pressure
of one pound per square inch. From the front part of the boiler a tubular branch E
projects, and this is fitted with a union or other equivalent coupling F, by which
the pipe G is attached to the boiler. The pipe G is also attached by a similar
coupling H to the hot air bath I. In each case the joints F and H are such that
they admit of the free motion of the pipe and the bath to the required position on
the bed or couch for operating on a patient. The bath I consists of three sides,
which are double cased so that they enclose a hollow space into which the steam
from the boiler A passes. The water of condensation which collects in this hollow
space is drawn off from time to time as required by a suitable cock or plug
provided for the purpose in the lower part of the bath I. In the hollow space at
one end of the bath I coils of pipe J are enclosed, and the outer or lower end of
each coil projects outside the lower part of the bath I, as shewn at a and b,
Figures 1, 2, and 3.
A bellows or equivalent blowing apparatus for generating a gentle blast of air
(but which is not shown in the Drawings) forms part of the apparatus, and
the nozzle or air escape orifice of the blowing apparatus is connected by the
flexible pipe c to either or both orifices a or b, as required, and this depends upon
the treatment to which the patient is to be subjected, whether internal or external,
or both.
If the abdominal parts of the patient are to be treated, then the flexible pipe
conveying the air blast is attached to that one of the orifices b which communicates
with the discharge orifice d, so that the air heated by the steam in the casing of the
bath as it passes through the coils of pipe therein is discharged into the hollow of the
bath, which with the blankets by which the bath is covered encloses the whole or
part of the patient's body to be operated upon externally. If, on the other hand,
internal treatment of the uterus or other part is to be applied then the discharge
orifice d is fitted with a nozzle or mouth-piece for that purpose.
The second discharge orifice f is provided for the purpose of enabling a patient to
inhale heated air, and when so used the flexible pipe c is coupled to the orifice a
which communicates with the discharge orifice f, or by means of the two receiving
orifices a and b, and two connexions with the air blast apparatus, a patient may be
treated both internally and externally simultaneously, by causing one discharge
orifice to send heated air into the space enclosed by the bath, and the other to
discharge internally into the patient.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and the system, mode, or manner in or under which the same is or may be used
or practically carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider
to be novel and original and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the apparatus for operating upon
patients both externally and internally by heated air, substantially as herein-before
described and shewn in the annexed Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Galbraith, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of April, One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-seven.
THOMAS GALBRAITH. (L.S.)