Greer's patent for a syringe^[1]

Letitia Mumford Geer (1852–1935) was an American nurse and innovator who helped set up the framework of modern medicine through her invention of the one-hand medical syringe.

Early life

Geer was born in Michigan in 1971 to a family of farmers. Geer was one of four children. After spending a few years teaching, she moved to Chicago where she met her husband Charles Geer, a businessman who was involved in the manufacturing of surgical instruments.^[2]

Career

As Geer also became involved in the business, she noticed that the syringes being manufactured were difficult to use because they were often imprecise and unsanitary. Therefore, on February 12, 1896, Geer filed for a patent for a new syringe design. Her design was given a patent three years later, in 1899.^[3]

According to Geer's patent, “In a hand-syringe the combination of a cylinder, a piston and an operating-rod which is bent upon itself to form a smooth and rigid arm terminating in a handle, which, in its extreme positions, is located within reach of the fingers of the hand which holds the cylinder, thus permitting one hand to hold and operate the syringe...” Her syringe design had a detachable needle, a rubber plunger, and a cylindrical glass barrel. The rubber plunger could draw fluids into the syringe, and the barrel allowed the user to precisely measure out liquid measurements for the syringe. Additionally, the plunger had a U-shaped handle that made holding the syringe simple.^[4] Geer's syringe design was also more hygienic and reusable than earlier medical syringes because the needle could be reattached.

In 1904, Geer founded the Geer Manufacturing Company to develop her design for medical syringes. While Geer’s syringe design was favorable among clinics and hospitals, she faced opposition by some medical professionals who opted to continue with more established and traditional syringe designs.^[5] Regardless, Geer's manufacturing company was met with great success, and she continued to use her expertise in the medical field to invent other medical instruments such as the nasal speculum and a retractor.^[6] Additionally, since her patent, Geer’s syringe design has transformed healthcare, improving patient comfort and hygienic conditions for administering vaccines.^[7]

Death

Letitia Geer died July 18, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York, at the age of 83.^[8]

References