Week 5 - Anesthesia Machine Overview Flashcards
What does the anesthesia machine do?
- Deliver gases to keep patient alive and asleep
- Makes sure those gases don’t contaminate the air
- Means to provide mechanical ventilation
- Means to monitor the patient and anesthetic gases
What is the machine outlet (common gas outlet)?
where all gases get delivered to the circuit
How do gases come to the anesthesia gas machine?
Supply: at the back of the machine via:
- Pipeline (DISS): wall outlets, connecting valves and hoses, filters/check valves, pressure gauges
- Cylinders (PISS): hanger yokes, filters/check valves, pressure gauge, pressure regulators
How does the anesthesia gas machine prepare gases before their delivery to the patient?
Processing: Happens within the machine, proximal to common gas outlet
Fail-safe, Flowmeters, O2 flush, Low O2 pressure alarms, Ventilator driving gas, Proportioning systems (hypoxic guard), O2 second-stage regulator, Vaporizers, Check valves distal to vaporizers, Common gas outlet
How is the interaction of gases with the patient controlled and monitored with the anesthesia machine?
Delivery: occurs at common gas outlet to breathing circuit
- Common gas outlet: gas delivery hose connecting and breathing circuit
- Circle system circuit: nonrebreathing flow (inspiratory and expiratory valves) and CO2 absorption
- Ventilators (piston or bellows type)
- Integral Monitors: O2 analysis, disconnect alarm, spirometry, capnography, airway pressure, ventilator alarms
- Addition of positive end-expiratory pressure
How are gases disposed of in the anesthesia machine?
Via the scavenger system
- closed (active/passive)
- open
What are the two main components of the anesthesia machine?
Electrical System
Pneumatic System
What are the components of the electrical system in an anesthesia machine?
- Master switch (turns on electrical and pneumatic system inside machine, does NOT need to be on for cylinder pressure to be on)
- Power failure indicator (visible and audible)
- Reserve power (battery back up)
- Electrical outlets (convenience)
- Data ports
What are the components of the pneumatic system in an anesthesia machine?
High Pressure System
Intermediate Pressure System
Low Pressure System
What are the electrical sources of an anesthesia machine?
Single power cord
Battery backup for 30 minutes
Convenience outlets (intended for monitors, may not supply electricity if machine is on battery back up) – don’t use for heat devices like Bair huggers (draw a lot of amperage)
What devices on an anesthesia machine are NOT reliant on electrical power?
- Spontaneous/manual assist ventilation
- Mechanical flowmeters
- Scavenging system
- Variable bypass vaporizers
- Auxiliary flowmeters
- Monitoring with you 5 senses!
What devices on an anesthesia machine require wall outlet electrical power?
- Mechanical ventilators
- Electronic monitors
- Digital flowmeter displays for electronic flowmeters
- Vaporizers with electronic controls or injection control (Desflurane, Aladin cassettes)
What are the pressures in the High, Intermediate, and Low pressure systems of an anesthesia machine?
High Pressure System = 1900-2200 psi
Intermediate Pressure System = 37-55 psi
Low Pressure System = variable < 37 psi
What are the components of the High Pressure System of an anesthesia machine?
- Hanger Yoke (PISS)
- Gas Cylinders (E)
- Cylinder Pressure Gauge (Electronic or Bourdin type)
- Cylinder Pressure Regulators
- Check Valve
What are the cylinder gas sources for an anesthesia machine and their color, service pressure, capacity, and pin position?
Oxygen: green (US), 1900-2200 psi, 660L, PISS 2-5
Nitrous Oxide: blue, 745 psi, 1600 L, PISS 3-5
Air: yellow (US), 1800-1900 psi, 600 psi, PISS 1-5
What is the function of pressure regulators?
Reduce high and variable pressures delivered from the cylinder to more constant usable pressures
- Maintains a regular flow rate even as pressure may decrease from the cylinder
- Each gas has a separate pressure regulator
*Pressure from cylinders are down regulated to <50 psi so the machine will get its supply from the wall pressure instead of from the higher pressure tank
What are second stage pressure regulators?
Some machines use two regulators whereby the second regulator delivers the gas at slightly above atmospheric pressure to the downstream components (i.e. flowmeters) — reduce pressure from pipeline to flowmeters
Helps in providing a smooth constant flow of gas irrespective of fluctuations in pipeline pressures due to peak/trough demands in the system
What is the purpose of cylinder pressure relief valves?
Vent the contents of the cylinder into the atmosphere should dangerous pressures develop inside the cylinder
- Required by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards
What are check valves?
One way flow valves or unidirectional flow valves
Prevent back flow of gas or permit directional gas flow
- Inspiratory and expiratory valves on circuit
- Between cylinders so they don’t flow into each other or exit of gas from machine when no cylinder present
What are the components of the Intermediate Pressure System of an anesthesia machine?
- Master switch (when OFF, pressure in intermediate system falls to 0)
- Pipeline inlet connections (DISS) (check valve at inlet to prevent reverse gas flow from machine to pipeline)
- Pipeline pressure gauges (should read 50-55 psi)
- Oxygen pressure failure device (Fail Safe)
- Oxygen supply failure alarm
- Gas selector switch
- Second stage pressure regulator
- Oxygen Flush
- Flow adjustment controls
- Alternate oxygen flow in case of electrical failure (Aysis)
What does the alternate O2 delivery system in an anesthesia machine require?
Either pipeline supply or a reserve oxygen cylinder to be connected
The System Switch to be in the ON position
What steps do you take if there is a loss of pipeline (wall) gas?
1) Don’t attempt to fix the oxygen analyzer (trust it until proved wrong) – if O2 analyzer doesn’t warn of the crossover, the pulse ox will
2) Turn on backup O2 cylinder/Disconnect pipeline – check FiO2 monitor, if it doesn’t rise ventilate pt w/ Ambu bag with room air
3) Use low flow O2, maintain anesthesia w/ volatile agent
4) Turn off ventilator and ventilate manually through circle system
5) Call for help if needed, calculate time remaining for current cylinder
6) Find out how long the problem is expected to last
7) Don’t reconnect pt to pipeline until gas supply is tested
What are the components of the Low Pressure System of an anesthesia machine? (7)
- Flowmeters
- Hypoxic guard systems (O2 - N2O link system)
- Unidirectional check valve (Aespire)
- Pressure relief device
- Common gas outlet (may be internal on newer machines)
- Auxiliary oxygen flowmeter
- Breathing circuit
What are the types of flowmeters?
Electronic
Variable Orifice (Thorpe):
- Low flows = laminar: viscosity, Hagen-Poiseuille law
- High flows = turbulent: density, Graham’s law
What is the flow in variable orifice flowmeters dependent on?
Pressure change across constriction
Magnitude of annular opening
Physical properties of gas (changes in temp/pressure, density governs flow in places of turbulance)
Which float types do you read at the top and which do you read at the middle?
Read at top:
- Non-rotating
- Plumb-bob
- Skirted
- “H”
Read at middle:
-Ball
Where do you want the oxygen located in the flowmeter sequence?
Closest to the patient
- If a flowmeter closer to the pt had a leak then the oxygen could leak from that flowmeter and not be delivered to the pt
- Still need to check gas analysis since you can still have an issue regardless of placement
What are the advantages and disadvantages of Circle Breathing Circuits?
Advantages:
- Stable inspired concentration
- Conserve moisture and heat
- Prevention of OR pollution
- Low gas flows
Disadvantage: Complex design