Introductory Lecture

Series: The Anesthesia

Machine

PORNSIRI WANNADILOK
Objectives

 Anesthesia Machine
 Ventilators
 Scavenging Systems
 System Checkout
 ventilator
Flow
meter

bellow
vaporizer

Corrugated
APL valve
tube

Scavenging
Soda lime system
The Anesthesia Machine
High Intermediate Low Pressure Circuit
High Pressure System
 Receives gasses from the high
pressure E cylinders attached to the
back of the anesthesia machine (2200
psig for O2, 745 psig for N2O)
 Consists of:
– Hanger Yolk (reserve gas cylinder holder)
– Check valve (prevent reverse flow of gas)
– Cylinder Pressure Indicator (Gauge)
– Pressure Reducing Device (Regulator)
 Usually not used, unless pipeline gas
supply is off
 E Size Compressed Gas
Cylinders
Cylinder Oxygen Nitrous Oxide Carbon Dioxide Air
Characteristics
Color White Blue Gray Black/White
(green) (yellow)
State Gas Liquid and gas Liquid and gas Gas

Contents (L) 625 1590 1590 625

Empty Weight 5.90 5.90 5.90 5.90

(kg)
Full Weight (kg) 6.76 8.80 8.90

Pressure Full 2000 750 838 1800

(psig)
Hanger Yolk
 Hanger Yolk: orients
and supports the
cylinder, providing a
gas-tight seal and
ensuring a
unidirectional gas flow
into the machine
 Index pins: Pin Index
Safety System (PISS) is
gas specificprevents
accidental
rearrangement of
cylinders (e.g..
switching O2 and N2O)
Pressure Reducing Device
 Reduces the high and variable pressures found in a
cylinder to a lower and more constant pressure
found in the anesthesia machine (45 psig)
 Reducing devices are preset so that the machine
uses only gas from the pipeline (wall gas), when
the pipeline inlet pressure is 50 psig.

This prevents gas use from the cylinder even if the

cylinder is left open (i.e. saves the cylinder for
backup if the wall gas pipeline fails)
Pressure Reducing Device

 Cylinders should be kept closed

routinely. Otherwise, if the wall gas
fails, the machine will automatically
switch to the cylinder supply without
the anesthetist being aware that the
wall supply has failed (until the
cylinder is empty too).
Intermediate Pressure
System
 Receives gasses from the
regulator or the hospital
pipeline at pressures of
40-55 psig
 Consists of:
– Pipeline inlet connections
– Pipeline pressure indicators
– Piping
– Gas power outlet
– Master switch
– Oxygen pressure failure
devices
– Oxygen flush
– Additional reducing devices
– Flow control valves
Pipeline Inlet
Connections
 Mandatory N2O and O2,
usually have air and
suction too
 Inlets are non-
interchangeable due to
specific threading as per
the Diameter Index Safety
System (DISS)
 Each inlet must contain a
check valve to prevent
reverse flow (similar to
the cylinder yolk)
Oxygen Pressure Failure
Devices
 Machine standard requires that an anesthesia
machine be designed so that whenever the oxygen
supply pressure is reduced below normal, the
oxygen concentration at the common gas outlet
does not fall below 19%
Oxygen Pressure Failure
Devices
 A Fail-Safe valve is present in the gas line
supplying each of the flowmeters except O2.
This valve is controlled by the O2 supply
pressure and shuts off or proportionately
decreases the supply pressure of all other
gasses as the O2 supply pressure decreases
 Historically there are 2 kinds of fail-safe
valves
– Pressure sensor shut-off valve (Ohmeda)
– Oxygen failure protection device (Drager)
 Pressure Sensor Shut-Off
Valve
 Oxygen supply pressure
opens the valve as long
as it is above a pre-set
minimum value (e.g.. 20
psig).
 If the oxygen supply
pressure falls below the
threshold value the valve
closes and the gas in
that limb (e.g.. N2O),
does not advance to its
flow-control valve.
Oxygen Failure Protection
Device (OFPD)
 Based on a proportioning principle rather than a
shut-off principle
 The pressure of all gases controlled by the OFPD
will decrease proportionately with the oxygen
pressure
Oxygen Supply Failure
Alarm
 The machine standard specifies that
whenever the oxygen supply pressure
falls below a manufacturer-specified
threshold (usually 30 psig) a medium
priority alarm shall blow within 5
seconds.
Limitations of Fail-Safe
Devices/Alarms
 Fail-safe valves do not prevent
administration of a hypoxic mixture because
they depend on pressure and not flow.

 These devices do not prevent hypoxia from

accidents such as pipeline crossovers or a
cylinder containing the wrong gas
Limitations of Fail-Safe
Devices/Alarms
 These devices prevent hypoxia from some
problems occurring upstream in the machine
circuitry (disconnected oxygen hose, low
oxygen pressure in the pipeline and
depletion of the oxygen cylinder)
 Equipment problems that occur downstream
(for example leaks or partial closure of the
oxygen flow control valve) are not
prevented by these devices.
 Oxygen Flush Valve
(O2+)
 Receives O2 from pipeline
Receives O2 from pipeline
inlet or cylinder reducing
device and directs high,
unmetered flow directly to
the common gas outlet
(downstream of the
vaporizer)
 Machine standard requires
that the flow be between
35 and 75 L/min
 The ability to provide jet
ventilation
 Hazards
– May cause barotrauma
– Dilution of inhaled anesthetic
Second-Stage Reducing
Device
 Located just upstream of the flow
control valves
 Receives gas from the pipeline inlet or
the cylinder reducing device and
reduces it further to 26 psig for N2O
and 14 psig for O2
 Purpose is to eliminate fluctuations in
pressure supplied to the flow
indicators caused by fluctuations in
pipeline pressure
Low Pressure System

 Extends from the flow control valves

to the common gas outlet
 Consists of:
– Flow meters
– Vaporizer mounting device
– Check valve
– Common gas outlet
Flowmeter assembly
 When the flow control valve
is opened the gas enters at
the bottom and flows up
the tube elevating the
indicator

 The indicator floats freely at

a point where the
downward force on it
(gravity) equals the upward
force caused by gas
molecules hitting the
bottom of the float
 Arrangement of the Flow-
Indicator Tubes
 In the presence of a flowmeter
leak (either at the “O” ring or
the glass of the flow tube) a
hypoxic mixture is less likely to
occur if the O2 flowmeter is
downstream of all other
flowmeters
 In A and B a hypoxic mixture
can result because a substantial
portion of oxygen flow passes
through the leak, and all nitrous
oxide is directed to the common
gas outlet
* Note that a leak in the oxygen
flowmeter tube can cause a hypoxic
mixture, even when oxygen is
located in the downstream position
 Proportioning Systems

– Mechanical
integration of the
N2O and O2 flow-
control valves
– Automatically
intercedes to maintain
a minimum 25%
concentration of
oxygen with a
maximum N2O:O2
ratio of 3:1
Limitations of
Proportioning Systems
 Machines equipped with proportioning
systems can still deliver a hypoxic mixture
under the following conditions:
– Wrong supply gas
– Defective pneumatics or mechanics (e.g.. The
Link-25 depends on a properly functioning
second stage regulator)
– Leak downstream (e.g.. Broken oxygen flow
tube)
– Inert gas administration: Proportioning systems
generally link only N2O and O2
Vaporizers

 A vaporizer is an instrument designed

to change a liquid anesthetic agent
into its vapor and add a controlled
amount of this vapor to the fresh gas
flow
 Classification of
Vaporizers
Methods of regulating output concentration
Concentration calibrated (e.g. variable bypass)
Measured flow
Method of vaporization
Flow-over
Bubble through
Injection
Temperature compensation
Thermocompensation
Supplied heat
 Generic Bypass Vaporizer
 Flow from the flowmeters
enters the inlet of the
vaporizer
 The function of the
concentration control valve
is to regulate the amount
of flow through the bypass
and vaporizing chambers
Splitting Ratio = flow though vaporizing
chamber/flow through bypass
chamber
 Factors That Influence
Vaporizer Output
 Flow Rate: The output of the vaporizer is
generally less than the dial setting at very low (<
200 ml/min) or very high (> 15 L/min) flows
 Temperature: Automatic temperature
compensating mechanisms in bypass chambers
maintain a constant vaporizer output with varying
temperatures
 Back Pressure: Intermittent back pressure (e.g.
positive pressure ventilation causes a higher
vaporizer output than the dial setting)
Factors That Influence
Vaporizer Output
 Atmospheric Pressure: Changes in
atmospheric pressure affect variable bypass
vaporizer output as measured by volume %
concentration, but not (or very little) as
measured by partial pressure (lowering
atmospheric pressure increases volume %
concentration and vice versa)
 Carrier Gas: Vaporizers are calibrated for
100% oxygen. Carrier gases other than this
result in decreased vaporizer output.
The Circuit: Circle System
 Arrangement is variable,
but to prevent re-breathing
of CO2, the following rules
must be followed:
– Unidirectional valves
between the patient and
the reservoir bag
– Fresh-gas-flow cannot
enter the circuit between
the expiratory valve and
the patient
– Adjustable pressure-
limiting valve (APL) cannot
be located between the
patient and the inspiratory
valve
Circle System
 Advantages:
– Relative stability of inspired concentration
– Conservation of respiratory moisture and heat
– Prevention of operating room pollution
– PaCO2 depends only on ventilation, not fresh
gas flow
– Low fresh gas flows can be used
 Disadvantages:
– Complex design = potential for malfunction
– High resistance (multiple one-way valves) =
higher work of breathing
 The Adjustable Pressure
Limiting (APL) Valve
 User adjustable valve that
releases gases to the
scavenging system and is
intended to provide control
of the pressure in the
breathing system
 Bag-mask Ventilation:
Valve is usually left
partially open. During
inspiration the bag is
squeezed pushing gas into
the inspiratory limb until
the pressure relief is
reached, opening the APL
 Scavenging Systems
 Protects the
breathing circuit or
ventilator from
excessive positive or
negative pressure.
Scavenging Systems
Checking Anesthesia Machines

8 Categories of check:
 Emergency ventilation equipment
 High-Pressure system
 Low-Pressure system
 Scavenging system
 Breathing system
 Manual and automatic ventilation system
 Monitors
 Final Position
The end