Copper Kettle
Copper Kettle Vaporizer, circa 1950s
In the late 1940s Dr. Lucien E. Morris (1914-2011) addressed the problems of vaporizers. (“Anyone ought to be able to make a better vaporizer than this!”). His design for the Copper Kettle was a major technical advance. It was the first to deliver a precise concentration of any volatile vapor to the patient. By using copper, a good heat conductor, it maintained near-constant temperature, and thus steady vapor pressure. Exact concentrations of the anesthetic gas delivered to the patient could be algebraically calculated by measuring the oxygen flow pushed through the circuits and the vapor pressure relative to the barometric pressure. The Copper Kettle could be calibrated for use with any liquid anesthetic and was adjustable by the anesthesiologist to meet the changing needs of the patient throughout surgery.
Lucien Morris, Copper Kettle Patent Illustration
One of Lucien E. Morris' illustrations for his "Anesthesia Apparatus" filed with his US patent application in 1953. Patent number US2890696 was awarded in 1959 for what became known as the Copper Kettle vaporizer.