Monster Steel Ball Forms Air Cure Hospital
What was it?
Basically, a huge hyperbaric chamber, 64
feet in diameter and 5 stories tall, where patients stayed for up to two weeks
under increased atmospheric pressure.
Who built it?
In the 1920s Dr. Orval J. Cunningham was a
leading exponent of hyperbaric therapy. In the mid-1920s, he operated the then
largest hyperbaric chamber in existence, in Kansas City. An industrial tycoon,
H.H. Timken, heard about this work and gave Cunningham $1,000,000 to build what
would end up being the largest hyperbaric chamber ever constructed. Timken's
industry, ball bearings, was based in Canton, Ohio, but the chamber was built in
Cleveland, to Cunningham's specifications. While in existence it was known as
the "Timken Tank" and the "Cunningham Sanitarium." While the tank is the most
interesting part of the Cunningham Sanitarium, the complex also included a
conventional building next door (see
archival photos); presumably this building was for patients not needing
hyperbaric therapy.
What was its function?
Air was pressurized (in the
rectangular building next to the sphere) and pumped into the air-tight sphere,
so that occupants inhaled air at 30 pounds per square inch. This is double
normal sea level air pressure of 14.7 psi. The theory was that the pressurized
air, by providing double the normal oxygen concentration, would alleviate many
diseases (wrongly attributed) to anaerobic bacteria, such as some cancers,
diabetes, pernicious anemia, and others.
Did it work?
The claims for this and other chambers of
the era were entirely specious. There was not a shred of scientific evidence
that the chambers cured any of the diseases claimed to be helped by Dr.
Cunningham. The American Medical Association severely challenged his claims. In
May, 1928 (while the tank was under construction), the AMA Journal published a
critical
review of Dr. Cunningham's treatment. Although not stated in the
AMA review, the extra oxygen afforded by the high atmospheric pressure could
just as easily -- and far more cheaply -- have been delivered from a tank of
pressurized oxygen delivered to the patient under ambient atmospheric pressure.
Oxygen therapy under ambient air pressure was certainly available in the 1920s,
though not widely used (see Haldane's
work from the 1920s). In any case, the Cunningham Steel Ball fell
into disrepute, and was no longer used for hyperbaric therapy after a few short
years.
What happened to it?
According to an article in the
Cleveland Plain Dealer the Steel Ball "was sold a few times in the mid-1930s and
the ground was bought by the Cleveland Catholic Diocese in 1941 after the
bulding was no longer used. The steel ball was dismantled and sold for scrap
metal during World War II." This event did not go unnoticed by the AMA, which
published an editorial
comment on April 11, 1942.
What is on the site today?
St. Joseph's High School,
built in 1952 (18485 Lake Shore Blvd., Cleveland).
What happened to the field of hyperbaric therapy after the Cunningham
Steel Ball?
The whole field fell into some disrepute. Then in 1939
the Navy began treating divers suffering decompression sickness with hyperbaric
oxygen therapy; this was different than all the previous uses of
hyperbaric therapy, since it compressed pure oxygen. Dr. Cunningham's Steel
ball, and all previous hyperbaric chambers, used only compressed air
which, as pointed out above, was no better than just using oxygen from a tank at
the patient's bedside.
Apart from Navy use, however, hyperbaric therapy - with air or pure oxygen - was not on any scientific basis, except for a brief period in the mid-1950s when it was used for open heart surgery. However, cardiac bypass machines soon eliminated the need for hyperbaric oxygen therapy in this situation, and the field was again taken over by practitioners with unfounded claims (except in the Navy and a group doing research in the field). In the mid-1970s, the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society -- an organization made up largely of Navy and ex-Navy physicians -- systematically reviewed all the available scientific evidence for hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO). UHMS came up with a list of conditions for which HBO was likely beneficial (and a much larger list for which it was not). The UHMS list was accepted by insurance providers, including Medicare. Subsequently, UHMS became the scientific arbiter of indications for hyperbaric oxygen therapy. HBO is now accepted for treatment in a small group of specific conditions and disorders.
How is HBO given today?
HBO is usually delivered in a
monoplace
chamber, big enough for a single patient. A few hospitals and
specialized centers around the world have a multi-place
chamber, which is big enough for several patients and an attendant.
However, there are no longer any chambers the size of Dr. Cunningham's grandiose
structures of the 1920s.
Aerial view of entire complex, which included the conventional or main building
on the left, the air compressor building in the middle, and the Steel Ball on
the right. The view is looking north. Just behind the large mansion in left rear
of the photo is the southern shore of Lake Erie (the lake cannot be seen in this
photo).
Inside of air compressor room, which was in the rectangular building between the
conventional building and the Steel Ball
One of the bedrooms inside the Steel Ball
Dining room inside the Steel Ball
Lounge inside the Steel Ball
Outside view of the Steel Ball. The conventional or main building is seen in the
distance.
This is the main or conventional building next to the steel ball, built in the
traditional architecture of the 1920s.
One of the bedrooms in the conventional building next to the steel ball. In this
photo and the other photos below from the main building, note the rectangular
walls in contrast to the lounge and dining room in the Steel Ball.
The main dining room in the conventional building next to the steel
ball.
The kitchen in the conventional building next to the steel ball.
Laboratory in main building next to the steel ball
Lobby in the conventional building next to the steel ball