Anne Rosemary Chamney CEng MIMechE (16 April 1931 – 9 December 2008)[1] was a British mechanical engineer specialising in medical equipment.[2] She is best known for her invention of a novel oxygen tent which was much cheaper than existing tents, much lighter and therefore easier to transport.[2]
Anne Rosemary Chamney | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 16 April 1931 |
| Died | 9 December 2008 |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation(s) | Medical engineer, inventor |
| Parents |
|
Early life
editAnne Rosemary Chamney was born in Amersham on 16 April 1931 to Eleanor Margery Hampshire and Ronald Martin Chamney.[2][3] She had one older brother John, born in 1928.[citation needed] According to the 1911 census, her father Ronald was an engineer with the National Telephone Company[4] and held a BSc in engineering.[5] As a young child, Chamney was ambidextrous.[6] She attended an all girls school from the age of nine until she was 16.[2] She earned an MS in biomechanics at the University of Surrey[7] and a PhD in physiology which focussed on the effect of carbon monoxide during pregnancy in rats, which influenced later research into the effect of smoking on humans during pregnancy.[2]
Career
editChamney studied at the Royal Aeronautical Society and became an apprentice at the De Havilland Aircraft Company in Hatfield from 1953 to 1958.[8] She moved to become a Technical Assistant in the Medical Development Group[9] at the British Oxygen Company between 1959 and 1961.[2] Chamney patented an apparatus for humidifying gases in 1960 whilst working there.[10]
Later she became a senior technician at University College Hospital Medical School in London where she evaluated hospital equipment. Whilst working there, in 1966 she invented of a novel oxygen tent which was much cheaper than existing tents, it was also lighter and therefore easier to transport.[11][12] The oxygen tent was published in The Lancet in 1967[13] and received international publicity, with coverage in the United States stating that her invention cost only $50, when other oxygen tents cost up to $750.[14] She credited being able to work closely with medical staff and developing clinical knowledge as being vital to the development of relevant and useful medical equipment.[7]
By 1985, Chamney was Chief Technician in the Department of Anesthesia at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead.[15]
Chamney was awarded the first James Clayton Prize in Medical Engineering from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and received an additional award in acknowledgement of her research and development work.[16][17][7]
Chamney was also a Fellow of the Irish Genealogical Research Society[18] and a member of the Women's Engineering Society.[19][20]
Anne Chamney died on 9 December 2008 and was cremated on 16 December at Hendon Cemetery and Crematorium in Barnet, London.[21]
Selected publications
edit- Wayne, D.J., and Chamney, A.R. (1969) Oxygen tent performance. Physics in Medicine & Biology, 14(9) Oxygen tent performance
- Wayne, D.J., and Chamney, A.R. (1969) Oxygen tents: A comparison of two techniques. Anaesthesia, 24(4) Oxygen tents.: A comparison of two techniques
- Chamney, A.R. (1969) Humidification Requirements and Techniques. Including a Review of the Performance of Equipment in Current Use, 24(4) Humidification requirements and techniques.: Including a review of the performance of equipment in current use
References
edit- ^ "Anne Chamney". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f Stanley, Autumn (1995). Mothers and Daughters of Invention: Notes for a Revised History of Technology. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-2197-8.
- ^ "England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007". www.ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ "UK Census Online". ukcensusonline.com. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
- ^ "1939 Who's Who In Engineering: Name C - Graces Guide". www.gracesguide.co.uk. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
- ^ Stanley, Autumn, 1933- (1995). Mothers and daughters of invention : notes for a revised history of technology. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-8135-2197-1. OCLC 31782818.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c "The Woman Engineer Vol 10". twej.theiet.org. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
- ^ "The Woman Engineer journal". www.theiet.org. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- ^ "The Woman Engineer Vol 8". twej.theiet.org. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
- ^ "International Patents, 1890-2020". www.ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ Image. NHS years Retrieved 26 March 2023
- ^ Richman, Fiona Simpson, Gareth (5 July 2018). "Amazing black and white photographs reveal NHS's incredible history". Evening Standard. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Wayne, D. J.; Chamney, A. R. (12 August 1967). "A New Oxygen Tent". The Lancet. 290 (7511): 344–345. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(67)90178-X. ISSN 0140-6736. PMID 4143731.
- ^ "Post Crescent (Appleton, Wisconsin) newspaper". www.ancestry.co.uk. 10 July 1967. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ "The Woman Engineer Vol 13". twej.theiet.org. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
- ^ "Anne Chamney". Grace's Guide to British Industrial History. Archived from the original on 30 July 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- ^ "The James Clayton Prize | Institution of Mechanical Engineers". www.imeche.org. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
- ^ "Fellows of the Irish Genealogical Research Society". The Irish Genealogical Research Society. Archived from the original on 30 May 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- ^ "The Woman Engineer Vol 7". www2.theiet.org. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- ^ "The Woman Engineer Vol 9". twej.theiet.org. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
- ^ "England & Scotland, Select Cemetery Registers, 1800-2016". www.ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
