Historically, psychiatric institutions built and utilized large centrifuges capable of spinning up to 12 psychiatric patients at a time as a therapeutic intervention.
"And then actually they started putting people in giant centrifuges and spinning them around and they said, "Oh, hey, it works. The studies show it works." So the hospitals got together and they made these centrifuges that could spin 12 people at a time." (said at 0:15:40)
In the late 18th and 19th centuries, psychiatric institutions did construct and employ mechanical rotational devices—such as Cox's chair, Hallaran's circulating swing, and multi-patient rotating machines (such as those designed by Ernst Horn at Berlin's Charité)—under the premise that rotational acceleration and vestibular stimulation could alter cerebral blood flow and calm or reset mental disorders. While historical accounts document these large rotational machines and revolving devices used across European asylums, they were typically designated as rotational machines, rotary swings, or spinning beds rather than modern laboratory centrifuges.
- context: The Moving History of Vestibular Stimulation as a Therapeutic Intervention (? 2017)
"Although the discovery and understanding of the function of the vestibular system date back only to the 19th century, strategies that involve vestibular stimulation were used long before to calm, soothe and even cure people. While such stimulation was classically achieved with various motion devices, like Cox’s chair or Hallaran’s swing, the development of caloric and galvanic vestibular stimulation has opened up new possibilities in the 20th century." (abstract, passage verified)
openalexfull study (doi)