Abbott Bed

The Abbott Bed was invented by American orthopedist and physician Henry F. Abbont in 1925. This modern type of bed was used until the end of World War II in medical facilities to treat wounded soldiers. It was widely used in military field medicine and was known as a “camp bed.”

History of the invention Henry Abbort was born in 1865 and began studying medicine at the University of Texas. He later moved to Philadelphia, where he continued his medical career as an intern at the Pennsylvania Hospital. In 1905, Abbont worked with his colleague William B. Kilpatrick on orthopedic problems in the spine. They created a new method for preventing osteoarthritis based on ankle ligament prevention. Abbort also created orthopedic therapy for patients with joint enlargement and studied the physical mechanisms of lower leg injury. Subsequently, his work was published in orthopedic journals.

In 1912, Abbott was given the task of designing a new, more functional bed for the Baltimore Hospital, which soon became known as the Abbott Bed. Dr. Abbott purchased a pre-existing sample of a similar bed, then tested it on himself and made several modifications, mainly reducing the angle of the head to 84 degrees and changing the shape of the bottom. The bed turned out to be extremely practical and easy to use. When Abbott was asked why he used this particular angle of the headboard, he replied: “Because I prefer to lie on it for a few minutes and finally get tired of sleeping.”

Subsequent modifications to the Abbott bed were made to the Harper bed, making it stiffer and more durable for hospitals during the Great Depression. By the 20s of the 20th century, the bed was finally established in American medicine -