Reflections of a pioneer in blood gas analysis

No history of the development of blood gas analysis and its application in clinical and physiology research would be complete without consideration of the pioneering work of anesthesiologist researcher Dr John Severinghaus. 

As a young research fellow in the 1950s he developed the Stow-Severinghaus-type carbon dioxide electrode that continues to be used for measurement of pCO₂ in blood gas machines today, and the first-ever three-function (pH, pCO₂ and pO₂) blood gas analyzer. 

Last year, Dr Severinghaus (now emeritus Professor of Anesthesiology at USC) delivered the first John W. Severinghaus Lecture on Translation Science to the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. 

The prestigious lecture, entitled ‘Gadgeteering for Health Care’, outlined his role not only in the early development of blood gas machines but also the application of blood gas analysis in his subsequent anesthesia and cardio-respiratory physiology research projects over the following 30 years. 

The lecture is recently published and the resulting article provides a fascinating, highly informative and readable account of the collaborative research effort that eventually led to universal routine arterial blood gas analysis by the mid-1960s. 

It celebrates not only the work of the author but that of many with whom he worked, including some fellow blood gas luminaries: Leland Clarke, the inventor of the Clarke oxygen electrode; Poul Astrup and Ole Siggaard-Andersen. 

The article also charts his high-altitude studies of blood and CSF gas parameters aimed at a better understanding of hypoxia in the critically ill. Finally there is brief mention of research interests, late in his career, that focused on pulse oximetry and its limitations. 

The whole story is peppered with entertaining anecdotes and personal insights that add a welcome human dimension to the science, including some scary tales of self-experimentation! The reference list alone, with its many iconic papers, provides a useful resource for students of blood gas analysis and related matters.