129-200 A.D. Galen did a volumetric experiment on human ventilation. He had a boy breathe in and out of a bladder and found that the volume of the gas was, after a period, unchanged. Galen did no absolute measurement of lung volumes.
1681Borelli tried to measure the volume inspired in one breath. He did this by sucking a liquid up a cylindrical tube. He already occluded the nostrils.
1718 Jurin J. blew air into a bladder and measured the volume of air in the bladder by the principles of Archimedes. He measured 650 ml tidal volume and maximal expiration of 3610 ml.
1727Hales St. approves the results of Jurin, 3610 ml of maximal expiration. His method of measurement is not known.
1749Bernouilli D. describes a method of measuring an expired volume.
1788Goodwyn E. sucked water into a ‘pneumatic vessel’ which was weighted on scales. He stated, that the vital capacity could reach as much as 4460 ml. He corrected for temperature, but he did not use a nose-clip.
1793Abernethy tried to determine how far expired gases had been depleted of oxygen. He collected the expired gases over mercury. Abernethy measured a vital capacity of 3150 ml.
1796Menzies R. plunged a man into water in a hogshead up to his chin and measured the rise and fall of the level in the cylinder round the chin. With this method of body plethysmography he determined the tidal volume.
1799 Pepys W.H. jun. found the tidal volume to be 270 ml by using two mercury gasometers and one water gasometer.
1800 Davy H. measured his own vital capacity 3110 ml, his tidal volume 210 ml with a gasometer and the residual volume 590-600 ml by a hydrogen dilution method.
1813Kentish E. used a simple ‘Pulmometer’ to study ventilatory volumes in disease. An inverted bell jar standing in water, with entry at its top controlled by a tap, and graduated in pints down the side.
1831Thrackrah C.T. describes a ‘Pulmometer’ similar to that of Kentish, but air enters the glass jar from beneath. There is still no correction for pressure, so that machine measures still not only respiratory volumes but also the power of the expiratory muscles.
1844Maddock, A.B. publishes in the Lancet a letter to the editor about his ‘Pulmometer,’ “which I [Maddock] have found extremely useful for ascertaining the power of the lungs under different circumstances and conditions.” … ‘The principle of the machine was first …”suggested by the late Mr. Abernethy.” Maddock did not mention Thrackrah or Kentish.

1845Vierordt published his book ‘Physiologie des Athmens mit besonderer Rücksicht auf die Auscheidung der Kohlensäure.’ Even if Vierordts’ main interest was the determination of the exhaled gases, he already did a very exact determination of the volumetric parameters. For his experiments he used an ‘Expirator.’ Vierordt already described some parameters still use today in modern spirometry, like f.ex. residual volume (‘Rückständige Luft’), vital capacity (‘vitales Atmungsvermögen’), …

1852(1844) Hutchinson, John publishes his paper about his water spirometer which is still used today with little alterations only (major changes today are the addition of graphic and timing devices, and the reduction of the mass of the bell). Hutchinson recorded the vital capacities of over 4000 persons with his spirometer. He classified the persons for example as ‘Paupers,’ ‘First Battalion Grenadier Guards,’ ‘Pugilists and Wrestlers,’ ‘Giants and Dwarfs,’ ‘Girls,’ ‘Gentleman,’ ‘Diseased cases.’ He showed the linear relationship of vital capacity to height and also showed that that vital capacity does not relate with weight at any given height. Hutchinson had already started its work with spirometers in 1844.

1854Wintrich developed a modified spirometer, which was more simple to use than the spirometer of Hutchinson. Wintrich did an examination of about 4000persons with his spirometer, thereof about 500 pathological cases. He concluded that 3 parameters determines the vital capacity: body heights, weight and age.
1859Smith E. developed a portable spirometer and tried to mesure gas metabolism.
1866Salter added the kymograph to the spirometer to record time as well as the volume obtained.

1868Bert P. introduces the total body plethysmography. He did intense experiments with animals in a closed plethysmographic system. He presented his studies to the ‘Société de Biologie’ under the title ‘Changement de pression de l’air dans un poumon pendent les deux temps de l’acte respiratoire’ ['Alterations of the pulmonary air pressure during the two periods of respiration'] He did not do spirometric measurements together with the plethysmography, nor he did plethysmographic measurements on humans.

1879Gad J. publishes a paper about the ‘Pneumatograph,’ which allows to register additionally to the known parameters resulting from spirometric examination also the volume changes of the thorax during inspiration and expiration. ‘Wer sich experimentell mit Fragen über die Mechanik der Athmung beschäftigt, wird bald das Bedürfniss empfinden, einen Apparat zu besitzen, welcher gestatted, die die Athmung begleitenden Volumenänderungen des Thorax aufzuschreiben.’ Gad did an intense testing of his Pneumatograph with a rabbit before he did his first measurements of human respiration parameters. Additionally Gad suggest a new name for his Pneumatograph, ‘Aeroplethysmograph.’
1902Brodie T.G. was the first using a dry bellow wedge spirometer, the precursor of the still today used Fleisch spirometer.
1904Tissot introduces a close-circuit spirometer.
1929Knipping H.W. introduces a standardized method for spiroergometry. (Already 1883 Speck C. had developed an ergo meter called the ‘ergostat,’ 1896 Bouny E. had done studies using a first bicycle ergometer).
1959Wright B.M. and McKerrow C.B. introduces the peak flow meter.
1969DuBois A.B. and van de Woestijne K.P. presents the whole body plethysmograph on humans.
1974Campbell et al presents a cheap and light development of a peak flow meter.
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1993CBI presented the first-to-market incentive based spirometer with its Birthday Cake Incentive.

1994CBI introduces the first take-home fully-functional spirometer with bi-directional telecommunication between patient and pratitioner.  This spirometer was the first to enable the lung transplant patient an early discharge with constant home monitoring. 

1995CBI introduced the first maximum airflow efficienct Clear Advantage™ filter that incorporates a unique pad mount supporting the filter media without the need for traditional folds, pins, fins, or other flow restrictive mechanical supports. Such supports can create airflow turbulence, blockage, and “dead pockets” within the filter air flow path, which can seriously impair spirometer reliability. With the Clear Advantage™ filter, the airflow encounters nothing but unobstructed filtration using state-of-the-art media as it passes through the unit.

1996CBI pioneered the first computer-based spirometer on the market now known as the WinDX™.

2002CBI collaborates with world thought leaders to incoporate various international normals and languages allowing its advanced pulmonary function testing equipment to reach the rest of the world.