The medical gas system is typically associated with the oxygen that is pumped to patients during surgery or in their hospital rooms. Actually, a typical medical gas system is made up of a number of gases, including the anaesthetic gases found in the operating room's arrangement.
The medical gas system is a collection of hardware and piping used to distribute non-flammable medical gases. Gases such as oxygen, surgical air, compressed air, nitrous oxide, medical vacuum, nitrogen, and so forth. Medical gas systems are regulated as drugs because they sustain life. This entails several levels of limitations and guidance on how to act in a proper, safe, and legal manner.
Let us have an overview of medical gas systems including:
Pumps, compressors, manifolds, and bulk containers are examples of source equipment since they add or remove medical gases from the hospital's pipe system.
To produce clean and safe pressurised medical gas that satisfies the mandated pressure and volume rates at each medical gas terminal, source equipment may have a number of hardware components to filter, pressurise, clean, dry, or regulate the gas.
OXYGEN: Majority of hospitals and even medical facilities have an oxygen supply that comes either by prefilled oxygen tankers which are supplied by oxygen gas suppliers or directly from inhouse installed Oxygen generators, which produces oxygen non-stop on site and supply directly to main gas lines. In other situations, such as dental clinics, oxygen may actually be linked directly to the equipment that comes into contact with the patient via a high-pressure cylinder. At normal temperatures, liquid oxygen boils, and the gaseous phase is piped into the hospital building at a controlled pressure where it is monitored and the pressure is controlled before being piped throughout the structure. There must be a shut-off valve and a pressure-detecting alarm at the entering point.
MEDICAL VACUUM: The second-most common medical gas in use, vacuum is one that patients and visitors encounter frequently. Running a mechanical pump, which is similar to a compressor in many ways, creates the vacuum by sucking gases out of the receiving tank and forcing the compressed air outside, leaving a vacuum in the receiving tank that is linked to the house pipe. Vacuum pumps must be redundant and available in a variety of mechanical configurations. They will have numerous controls and alarms to maintain the pressure as well as to activate the second (or third) pump if necessary because they may be running continuously under varying loads.
WASTE ANESTHETIC GAS DISPOSAL: Although it actually is a particular vacuum system for surgery or procedure regions, the Waste Anaesthetic Gas Disposal system is also regarded as a medicinal gas. During surgery, anaesthesia gases knock patients out, and the anaesthesiologist will combine the anaesthetic gas with nitrous oxide and oxygen to provide the ideal level of sedation while preserving respiration. This is quite complicated and calls for the doctor to closely monitor breathing and heart rate while giving the patient gas using a breathing mask or other equipment. With each exhalation, the patient actually returns some of the anaesthetic to the mask, thus not all of these gases are ingested by the patient. The WAGD system employs vacuum pumps to pull the surplus and exhaled gases away from the patient, the anaesthesiologist, and the other people in the operating theatre. Exposure to even small levels of these anaesthesia gases over a lengthy period of time can be detrimental to the crew performing the surgery.
DESICCANT DRYER : Dew points produced by regenerative desiccant dryers typically range from 40 °F (40 °C) to 100 °F (73 °C). A refrigerator-based dryer produces dew points that are no lower than 32 °C. Dew point suppression from a deliquescent drier varies with air temperature. This suppression often occurs 20 °F (11 °C) below the temperature of compressed air.
INSTRUMENT AIR: Compressors in the source equipment room also produce instrument air. Only equipment is powered by this outside air that has been compressed and filtered. The compressors and dryers in this circuit require quarterly inspections. A regenerative dryer should provide an instrument air dew point of -40 degrees Celsius. The source equipment rooms need to be well-ventilated and kept at a temperature that will support the efficient operation of the pumps' cooling systems. If the source equipment room air flow is insufficient and the room temperature is not maintained, pumps that overheat sound warnings and stop down.
While vacuum, WAGD, Medical air and Instrument air are generated domestically in most hospitals, lower volume gases may additionally come through a piped system from cylinders linked to a manifold. Hospitals mostly have nitrogen, nitrous oxide and maybe carbon dioxide produced through a manifold.
There are typically a variety of gas cylinders lined up against the walls in the manifold room. Chambers contain exceptionally high pressure and should be safeguarded with substantial screw on covers and upheld in vertical position. If the liquid squirts through the pigtails or connecting lines, it could freeze the fittings, valves, and alarm sensors inside the cylinder and cause some of the gas to melt. Any compressed liquid will be at the bottom of the cylinder and unlikely to harm the equipment if the cylinders are kept vertical. Each kind of gas will come in cylinders that are color-coded, clearly labelled with the name of the gas inside, and have distinctive connectors to prevent gases from joining together. Additionally, cylinders must be labelled as full or empty.
Typically, the manifold connects four or more cylinders simultaneously, and each connection point has a one-way check valve so that the cylinders can be changed without lowering the system's pressure. Before the gas enters the house piping, it is directed from the cylinders to a pressure regulator, where it is regulated by a mechanical valve that allows isolation of the system. An alarm is also present, and the gas flows through a gauge there.
Medical gas alarm systems can vary in what they report and measure. Regulating agencies set minimum standards, but many alarm panels now display more information than the minimum. There are three general categories or levels of protection for medical gas alarm panels:
Master alarm panels that keep an eye on the oxygen supply, manifolds, and source equipment.
Zone alarms that will guard a specific area of the hospital and typically keep an eye on oxygen supply and pressure.
Area alarms in surgical, procedure, and recovery rooms monitor at least oxygen and vacuum. Area alarms are required in critical care and anaesthesia areas to monitor each gas in that zone. Pressures and other values can be directly displayed on the alarm screen with the help of more recent sensors and digital internal components.
In the event of an emergency or for routine maintenance, each type of alarm is connected to a valve and a visual gauge. Wireless signals can connect sensors and other alarm panels to modern alarms.
At least two sets of vacuum inlets and oxygen outlets are present in the majority of modern hospital rooms. In the event of a blockage or breakdown, this redundancy enables continuous operation and may permit the use of multiple devices on the patient.
The "gas specific quick connect" type can be found in both connections. That is, when nothing is plugged into them, they are spring-loaded to shut off the gas supply. Most of the time, a regulator of some kind is plugged into the wall outlet. This allows the amount of oxygen or vacuum to be adjusted to meet the needs of the patient or machine. The operating volume is displayed on the regulator. The on/off switch for the gas it is connected to the regulator.
The connectors and inlets come in about seven different designs. Each of these fixtures is constructed differently and is color-coded, ensuring that each gas will only accept the appropriate connector in the outlet. To make it possible for connectors to fit in different rooms, hospitals typically use the same type of outlet. A technician must regularly test and approve each outlet and inlet.
The staff at the hospital should check any hoses that connect equipment to the wall that are reused to make sure they are not bent or cracked. By sucking air out of the room, this would either cause the vacuum pumps to run too much or the system pressure to drop.
The hoses in medical procedure regions are susceptible to being pinched, bent, and stepped on. In the case of a vacuum, they can also build up debris, which slows down the system's ability to assist the surgical staff. Every year and a half, the hoses should be inspected or replaced, according to standard practice. Each hose should have connectors at both ends that are specific to the type of gas being conveyed and should be coloured differently to indicate the type of gas it carries.
Every six months, "pigtails," or the lines that connect the gas cylinders to the manifold should be typically inspected and tested for leaks. These fittings and hoses do get worn because the various gas cylinders run out and need to be replaced frequently.
Most non-oxygen pigtails (connecting hoses) are made of plastic reinforced with stainless steel to prevent pinching and kinking among these bulky cylinders and in the tight spaces where fittings must be connected and wrenches must be used to tighten them. Cracks and broken outside fibres should be checked on the hoses. For each kind of gas, replacement hoses must match the fittings.
Inspection of a medical Gas system: PPM services (Planned preventative Maintenance) is mandatory for gases systems. For this Regular inspection of your medical gas systems is necessary not only because they are essential to the well-being of your patients but also because the results of those inspections could determine whether or not your business succeeds or fails financially. To keep your medical gas systems safe and cost-effective, you must provide repair, maintenance, and operational information to your facility's technicians.
Facility managers and other staff members need to be aware of the various types of compressors and gases and the requirements for their maintenance. Your facility will be able to avoid unnecessary risks and delays by adhering to appropriate maintenance standards. In addition, maintaining the highest level of patient safety requires an understanding of the various gases you are employing and their proper application.
Before they can be used, medical gas systems must be built by licensed installers and checked by a trained verifier. Annual inspections ensure that the system is safeguarding patients and staff members and providing excellent services once it is operational.
OxyMed has trained CP & AP staff for gases system installation in Dubai UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Middle East region and maintenance with extensive experience into different projects.
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