Equipment In Anaesthesia: Part 1 Flashcards
Information from this deck is from the book Equipment in Anaesthesia in Critical Care: A complete guide for the FRCA.
What is a VIE
Vacuum Insulated Evaporator
Storage tank for liquid oxygen
Keep contents below 160 Celsius
Provide piped O2 to most hospitals
Advantages of a VIE
- Storing liquid oxygen is highly space efficient
- Liquid oxygen is stored at much lower pressures than gas at room temperature
- No power source required
- Cheaper option for storage and delivery
Disadvantages of a VIE
- Initial equipment costs higher than manifold
- Backup cylinder manifold or VIE required in case of interruption
- If demand is not continuous, oxygen will be vented and lost.
- SAFETY: VIE must be kept outside due to fire risk.
What is the pressure inside a VIE, and what is the relevance?
7 Bar / 700kPA
It is the saturated vapour pressure of O2 at -160C
What happens to oxygen in a VIE before entering the hospital pipeline
- Superheater brings to ambient temperature
- Pressure regulator brings to 400kPA
Two ways of measuring the oxygen content in a VIE
- Mass: weighing on a tripod scale. Subtract tare weight from measured weight.
- Difference between vapour pressure at the top of VIE and the bottom of the liquid Oxygen. Calculate height of column and deduce volume from cross-sectional area.
What is a cylinder manifold
A pipe with several openings connected to cylinders;
Primary supply for small hospitals OR backup supply for larger hospitals.
Which gases are typically supplied by a cylinder manifold
Oxygen
Nitrous Oxide
Entonox
Size cylinders used in a manifold
J, L
Advantages of cylinder manifold
- Simple and cheap
- Effective backup
- Alarm system avoids running empty
Disadvantage of cylinder manifold
- Limited capacity compared to VIE
Safety considerations for a cylinder manifold
- Keep in a well-ventilated building separate from main building, due to fire and explosion risk;
- Main cylinder store should be in a separate room
Materials used for gas cylinders
a. Chromium molybdenum steel
b. Aluminium
Information found on a gas cylinder
- Label: gas, chemical formula, cylinder size, batch number, maximum safe operating pressure, expiry date, notes on storage, handling, and hazards;
Plastic disk: date cylinder was last tested
Valve block: testing pressure
Cylinder itself (engraved): test pressure, dates tested, tare weight, serial number
What are various cylinder sizes used for:
CD
E
J
CD: transporting patients
E: attached to anaesthetic machine
J: cylinder manifold
Size CD tank:
- oxygen volume at 137 Bar, 15C
- water capacity
- tare weight
- 460 litres
- 2 litres
- 3 kg
Size E tank:
- oxygen volume at 137 Bar, 15C
- water capacity
- tare weight
- 680 litres
- 4.7 litres
- 5.4 kg
Size J tank:
- oxygen volume at 137 Bar, 15C
- water capacity
- tare weight
- 6800 litres
- 47 litres
- 69 kg
Define critical temperature of a gas
Temperature at which the gas turns from liquid into gas,
above the temp it is impossible to compress it into liquid
Critical temperature of:
1. oxygen
2. nitrous oxide
- -116C
- 36.5C
Advantages of gas cylinders
- small cylinders are portable
- variety of connectors exist
- refillable, reusable
Disadvantages of gas cylinders
- big cylinders are heavy to transport
- not all connectors present on all cylinders
- amount of gas limited by volume of cylinder
- no alarm if gas runs out
Safety considerations for gas cylinders
- must be tested every 5-10 years
- filling ratio used (in UK: 0.75 at 15.5C; in warmer climates: 0.67)
Define filling ratio of gas cylinders;
explain its purpose
Weight of the liquid in a full cylinder, divided by the weight of water that would completely fill the same cylinder;
allows for pressure increases if temperature rises, without the risk of explosion.
True/False:
A filling ratio of 0.75 is exactly the same as the cylinder being 75% full
FALSE
Reason: differences between density of water and cylinder contents
Sources of production of medical grade air
- air compressor
- cylinder banks (smaller hospitals)
Pressures and respective uses of medical air
400kPa (4Bar): anaesthetic equipment/ventilators;
700kPa (7Bar): powering surgical equipment
Advantages of air compressor
More cost-effective for larger hospitals than a cylinder bank
Disadvantages of air compressor
Higher initial costs than cylinder bank
Safety considerations: air compressor
- Risk of contamination by air pollution: must be carefully situated and regularly inspected
- Risk of oil mist contamination
- Non-interchangeable Schrader valves to prevent accidental connection of high-pressure air to anaesthetic machine
Function: oxygen concentrator
Produce concentrated oxygen from air;
Inlet: 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 1% Argon, variable water vapour;
Outlet: 95% Oxygen, 5% Argon
What is a zeolite
Aluminosilicate;
Forms lattice structure in oxygen concentrator;
molecular sieve;
filters specific molecules while letting others through.
Oxygen concentrator: advantages
- cheap and reliable for home oxygen
- reduce need for commercial deliveries of oxygen
Oxygen concentrator: disadvantages
- Argon accumulates if used at low flows on anaesthetic circle system (leads to hypoxic mixture)
- requires power supply
Oxygen concentrator: safety considerations
Explosion hazard; patient must give up smoking