Air-Shields Incubators (Isolettes)
Air-Shields, Inc. was founded in 1939 in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, and was initially focused on specialized enclosures and environmental controls. The defining breakthrough for Air-Shields came in 1947 with the introduction of the Isolette® Infant Incubator, derived from the Chapple Incubator and developed in collaboration with pediatrician Dr. Charles Chapple of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The first version in 1947, the model C-33, did not get UL approval because of exposure of oxygen to electrical and mechanical connections with potential fire risk. Nevertheless, a considerable number were manufactured and sold. After a redesign, the Model C-35 debuted in 1948, received UL approval and dominated the market by 1950.* Moving away from rudimentary radiant warmers and wooden boxes, the Isolette established the modern standard for neonatal intensive care: a fully enclosed, transparent Plexiglas chamber engineered with forced-air micro-filtration, precise thermoregulation, and regulated humidity to prevent transcutaneous heat and fluid loss. By incorporating iris entry ports that allowed clinicians and nurses to examine, feed, and treat premature infants without breaching the sterile, temperature-stable microenvironment,
The Isolette became the gold standard across worldwide nurseries and has continued to evolve through through the models C-100, C-450, and modern C2000. Air-Shields’ neonatal business was acquired by Dräger Medical in 2004.
Core Product Lines
Air-Shields developed technologies primarily focused on neonatal thermoregulation, respiratory support, and patient monitoring:
- The Isolette® Incubator Series: The company’s defining product line (including models such as the C-33, C-100, C-450, and modern C2000). These microenvironments provided:
- Servo-controlled skin and air temperature management.
- Regulated humidity to minimize transcutaneous water loss.
- Oxygen enrichment with dual air curtains to maintain thermal stability when access ports were opened.
- Transport Incubators: Compact, battery- and DC-powered mobile incubators (such as the TI-100 and TI-500 “Globe-Trotter”) designed for ambulance, helicopter, and inter-hospital transport of critical newborns.
- Open Infant Warmers & Resuscitation Centers: The Resuscitaire® series integrated radiant overhead heat, micro-blenders for gas/oxygen, airway suction, and vital-signs management for immediate postnatal transition in delivery rooms.
- Phototherapy & Diagnostic Tools: Specialized overhead and blanket blue-light phototherapy systems for treating neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (jaundice), along with transcutaneous jaundice meters and vein transilluminators.
- Monitoring & Respiratory Devices: Early multi-parameter operating room monitors (such as the Air-Shields Monitor and System series), apnea monitors, and infant ventilators.
- Dr. Charles C. Chapple
- An Incubator for Infants, by Charles C. Chapple, Am. J. Obst. and Gynec. 35:1062-1065, 1938
- The Chapple Incubator
- US Patent 2,243,999 for the original Chapple Incubator
- US Patent 2,648,327 for the Air-Shields C-35 Isolette
* Air-Shields, Inc. v. Air Reduction Company, 331 F. Supp. 673 (N.D. Ill. 1971), U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Docket Number: 67 C 1767, Date Decided: March 18, 1971
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Last Updated on 11/06/26