Inventor of the A-14 oxygen mask
His work as a part of the Mayo Clinic Aero Medical Unit led to his being credited with the creation of the A-14 oxygen mask for the United States Air Force in 1941. The A-14 fighter pilot’s mask was frost proof, and included a microphone for radio communication, and allowed the pilot to talk and eat while wearing it.
He was a member of the team which included Drs. W. Randolph Lovelace and Walter M. Boothby, which developed the BLB (Boothby, Lovelace and Bulbulian) nasal and orinasal oxygen mask, which was useful for clinical settings, and, as it turned out, for aviators at high altitudes. The BLB and A-14 oxygen mask was used in combat in World War II.
Dr. Bulbulian also was the first director of the Mayo Medical Museum, and as such, developed content with staff doctors, and built the exhibits. This was the first medical museum in the United States. He also designed and created the exhibits for the Mayo Clinic’s display at the 1933 « A Century of Progress Exposition, » at the Chicago Worlds Fair.
