References to non-invasive ventilation (NIV) – breathing support by air blown into the nose and mouth or application of negative pressure to the chest wall – stem from biblical times, with accounts of expired air used to resuscitate infants in the 1400s and glass masks placed along the Thames riverbank and South Coast in the 1700s for near drowned sailors.
Negative pressure tank ventilators (‘iron lungs’) were common in Europe in the first half of the twentieth century as a result of poliomyelitis outbreaks. Fresh interest in sleep breathing disorders inthe 1970s and 80s led to a return to positive pressure ventilation. Recognition of obstructive sleep apnoea and the use of continuous positive airway pressure therapy (CPAP) provoked rapid improvements in mask and ventilator design.
Anita’s research over the last 20 years has sought to understand NIV in a clinical setting by exploring its effectiveness and enhancing the patient’s comfort.
Biography
Anita Simonds is Professor of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at Imperial’s National Heart and Lung Institute, and Consultant in Respiratory Medicine at Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust. After qualifying in medicine at University College Hospital, London, she trained in anaesthetics and intensive care medicine before moving into respiratory medicine under the mentorship of Dr Margaret Branthwaite.
She works on improving clinical care for adults and children with sleep breathing disorders and respiratory failure, by understanding the underlying physiological mechanisms and developing ventilation techniques to combat them.
Anita is chair of the European School of Respiratory Medicine, editor of books on respiratory medicine and respiratory sleep medicine, recipient of the Margaret Pfrommer medal of the American College of Chest Physicians, Trustee of the Scoliosis Association UK, chair of the Royal Brompton Arts Committee and a very amateur harp player.