BD Mechanical Method Found To Halt Fatal Embolisms By Milton Bracker New York ““RBUMNOS Times cases Writer AIRES, Aug. not 2A new, wholly mechanical method for preventing the fatal embolisms, or bloodclots, which take thousands of lives during surgery where used’ as the new in cases piscine where was it was used. The machine theory that usually orginates igs the based fatal in the on the embolism leg and that pressure on the leg during’ every year, was announced the period of anaesthesia must be Wednesday by 8. medical. team avoided and normal muscular confrom Creighton university, of traction simulated if such a clot is Omaha, Neb. The report was presented by Dr. Harry H. surgery McCarthy, at director of Creighton medical school, and Drs. Louis D. McGuire, Arthur C. Johnson and John W. Gatewood of his staff. The first two men are attending the seventh congress of the international ses e of surgeons Show The the Upward physicians worldwide Curve explained incidence killing clots has shown sive upward decade. curve Their col- here. of that the a progres- during the last project has involved a study of some 2000 cases over a period of three years. ~The Nebraskans reported that three and a half times as many embolisms were encountered in to be averted. Compressed Air Device To relieve such pressure and to prevent-muscle tissue from dying, the surgeons built a compressed airedevice which effectively swaths the foot and most of the leg with inflatable rubber sleeving. Mechanically, there is some similarity to the rubber sleeve on the leading edge of an airplane wing which enables the pilot to crack off ice as it forms. But in surgery the idea of the rubber is simply to permit continuous artificial pulsation by compressed air, Three Generally, ute—that Cycles a Minute three cycles is, three squeezes a min- of air -, : JAMES a a oe > and three relaxations—appear ¢ M. WALKER MONUMENTS | an ee ee —6Ul t—“‘i‘i‘i‘ziR a CE III Ste er OY BO SE . 5-2696 Ath es Se A OE Pde Sout ee ¢ ee & 4 Ey S McGuire. Other advantages of the machine are that once the compressed air is started it requires no attention; and that since it produces no spark, it can be used with | anaesthetic cases, | suf- ficient, according to McCarthy and inflammable