timeline of respiratory therapy timeline of respiratory therapy ancient period 1550 bc: (eg) the ebers papyrus describes ancient egyptian inhalation treatments for asthma. eighteenth century (1700s) 1771: (us) carl scheele (1742–1786) makes "fire air" (oxygen) by heating magnesium oxide. his findings are published in june 1774. 1774: (us) joseph priestley (1733–1804), credited with the discovery of oxygen, publishes his work on "dephlogisticated air" oxygen 3 months after a report by carl scheele. nineteenth century (1800s) 1816: (us) rene t.h. laennec (1776–1856) invents the stethoscope for chest auscultation and lays the foundation for modern pulmonology with his book diseases of the chest. 1860: (us) bunsen and kirchhoff invent the spectrometer. 1860: (us) stokes and hoppe-seyler demonstrate the oxygen transport function of hemoglobin. 1897: (de) gustav killian performs the first bronchoscopy in germany. 1899: (us) dr. thomas willis defines specific asthma symptoms for diagnosis. twentieth century (1900s) 1900-1920 1908: (us) george poe demonstrated his mechanical respirator by asphyxiating dogs and seemingly bringing them back to life. 1918: oxygen masks are used to treat combat-induced pulmonary edema. 1920-1940 1928: phillip drinker develops the "iron lung" negative pressure ventilator. 1935: carl matthes invented the first noninvasive oximeter employing an ear probe. 1940-1960 1943: dr. edwin r. levine, md began training technicians in basic inhalation therapy for post-surgical patients. 1946: (us) dr levine and his technicians formed the inhalation therapy association. 1954: (us) march 16, 1954 the ita is renamed the american association of inhalation therapists (aait). 1966: (us) february 1966, the ita was again renamed the american association for inhalation therapy (still, aait). 1956: (us) the aait begins publishing a science journal, inhalation therapy (now respiratory care). 1960: (us)in october 1960 the american registry of inhalation therapists (arit) is formed to oversee examinations for formal credentialing for people in the field. 1960-1980 1961: (us) sister mary yvonne jenn becomes the first registered respiratory therapist 1961: metaproterenol, the beta-2 bronchodilator is introduced. 1964: (ca) the canadian society of respiratory therapists (csrt) is founded in 1964 as the canadian society of inhalation therapy technicians. 1970: (us) in 1970 the board of schools of inhalation therapy technicians became the joint review committee for respiratory therapy education (jrcrte). 1971: (us) continuous positive airway pressure (cpap) is introduced by gregory. 1971: (us) the journal inhalation therapy is renamed to respiratory care. 1974: (us) the two us credentialing programs merge into a single credentialing organization called the national board for respiratory therapy (nbrt) in 1974. 1980: (us) president jimmy carter proclaimed the first cystic fibrosis awareness week. (july 22) 1980-2000 1982: (us) california passes the first modern licensure law governing the profession of respiratory care. 1982: (us) in 1982 president ronald reagan proclaimed the first national respiratory care week. 1986: (us) in 1986 the nbrt is renamed the national board for respiratory care (nbrc). 1998: (us) the jrcrte evolves into the committee on accreditation for respiratory care (coarc). twenty-first century (2000s) 2000: (us) respiratory care journal is accepted into index medicus and its online counterpart, the medline service. 2004: (us) vermont becomes the 48th state to pass a respiratory care act, effectively bringing legal credentialing to all 48 contiguous states in the united states. 2010: (us) on december 14, 2010, the national commission for certifying agencies (ncca) grants accreditation to the sleep disorders specialty examination. the crt-sds and rrt-sds. 2011: (us) in july, 2011 the nbrc creates the adult critical care specialty for registered respiratory therapists (rrt-accs). 2011: (us) in 2011 the state of hawaii became the 49th state in the united states to create a board of respiratory care and enacting a respiratory care act. 2012: (us) in april, 2012 the office of regulation in the state of michigan recommends the de-regulation of the respiratory therapy profession.