Pneumatic Health Institute at Milan, Italy, 1876. Carlo Forlanini (June 11, 1847 - May 26, 1918) was an Italian physician who specialized in research of tuberculosis and respiratory disorders, and the leading practitioner of aerotherapy. The invalid was taken to a cylindrical, comfortably furnished room into which chemically purified air was blown under steam power and maintained at a pressure exceeding that of the open atmosphere. Forlanini claimed that by increasing the pressure, the air was forced into even the finest branchings of the lungs, resulting in much greater oxygenation of the blood and removal of specific obstructions in the bronchial tubes, while the respiratory muscles were strengthened.