J U LY 2 0 1 5 O U T P A T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T 4 7
and easy to use, since you just select your desired
anesthetic mixture using a digital screen. There's a
downside to that, however. If your machine's screen
breaks or you lose power, it could eliminate your
control or supply of the volatile anesthetic. To fight
this, many machines have a backup battery, though
Here are a few other updates on
most modern machines that you
need to check out:
• Electronic checkouts walk the
provider through a daily check to
look for problems such as leaks,
compliance issues and electron-
ic software malfunctions.
• Work surfaces in new models are larger, providing ample space
to house charts and supplies.
• Bright LED lights help providers see in darkened ORs. Other
updates include foot brakes and automatic cord controls that
make cart maneuvering easier.
• Regulated auxiliary oxygen lets clinicians limit the concentra-
tion of open-delivered oxygen to minimize risk of fire.
• Low gas consumption allows for a near metabolic, very low flow
of fresh gas that conserves expensive volatile agents.
— Michael A. Olympio, MD
z INNOVATIVE IMPROVEMENT
Modern machines are designed
with the anesthesia provider in
mind.
ANESTHESIA AIDS
User-Friendly
Features Worth
Having
it must be regularly
inspected to ensure
it's charged enough to
provide a minimum of
30 minutes of opera-
tion, if needed.
3. Breathing
circuit
The fresh gas and
anesthetic enters the
breathing circuit,
which connects the
patient to the machine
to deliver the neces-
sary oxygen and anes-
thetic gases while
eliminating the
exhaled carbon diox-
ide.
One of the big
advances in new anes-
thesia machines is
fresh gas decoupling
(FGD), which ensures
constant tidal volume
delivery to the patient.
Computer systems
track the amount of
