The Both respirator, also known as the Both Portable Cabinet Respirator, was a negative pressure ventilator (more commonly known as an "iron lung") invented by Edward Both in 1937. Made from plywood, the respirator was an affordable alternative to the more expensive designs that had been used prior to its development, and accordingly came into common usage in Australia. More widespread use emerged during the 1940s and 1950s, when the Both respirator was offered free of charge to Commonwealth hospitals by William Morris. Development In 1937 Australia faced a poliomyelitis (polio) epidemic. At the time iron lungs provided one of the main methods of treating the "paralytic breathing failures" that were a complication of the illness. Although tank respirators had been developed earlier, the iron lung itself was still fairly new, having been designed by Philip Drinker and Louis Agassiz Shaw in 1928. Their design, which became known as a "Drinker's" or, due to its construction, an "iron lung", proved to be an effective means of prolonging the life of patients with poliomyelitis – although the first person to be treated in the ventilator died after two days from cardiac failure possibly related to pneumonia, the second patient recovered after spending two weeks in the machine. However, in Australia the widespread use of the Drinkers was hampered by a number of factors, most notably cost, the heavy construction of the device, and the need to ship the device to the United States for servicing, and thus there were few of the devices in the country. Thus Adelaide inventor Edward Both was approached in the hope that he could provide an alternative to meet the demand brought on by the epidemic. Both ran Both Equipment Limited with his brother Donald, and had previously developed medical apparatus. It took but a few weeks for the pair to create their own iron lung, which they named the "Both portable cabinet respirator". Unlike the Drinker's machine, the Both respirator was made from plywood (even though it continued to be referred to as an "iron" lung), and this both kept the price down and made it more portable. The Both device cost only £100, was portable due to its light weight and the addition of wheels, and was simple enough that hospitals could build their own in their workshops, and thus it soon proved to be a success. The portability also opened up other possibilities,