Centralized Medical Gas Supply System

PRESENTED BYLekshmi. G. Nadh

BME Trainee, GMCT

The centralized medical gas supply system is an ancillary service to a hospital…

Ancillary means one which supports

the main work.

What is medical gas??

Any gas or mixture of gases intended to be administrated to patients for therapeutic, diagnostic or for surgical tool application.

Commonly used medical gas are…

• Oxygen (O2)• Compressed medical grade air• Carbon Dioxide (CO2)• Nitrous Oxide (N2O)• Nitrogen (N2)• Carbon Monoxide (CO)• Ethylene Oxide (EtO)

Oxygen•Colorless, odorless, tasteless•Slightly heavier than air.•Nonflammable but supports combustion

Compressed Air

•Is the same mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and all other gas.•Is piped in to all modern hospitals•Used to power pneumatically powered equipment.

Carbon Dioxide

•Colorless and Odorless•Does not support combustion-Used in fire extinguishers•More soluble in liquids than oxygen•Easier transporting in blood then oxygen•Used to inflate tissues.

Nitrous Oxide

•Nonflammable but supports combustion•Used in anesthesia

Nitrogen•Used to power pneumatic equipments•Used as lab gas (liquid) for freezing tissue.

Vacuum•The word means a space with out any matter.•Very much used in hospitals for suction and aspiration.

Medical gas supply includes

• Cylinders

• A piped gas system

Cylinder body• Made of thin-walled molybdenum

steel to withstand high pressures. • Lightweight O2 cylinders can be

made from aluminum alloy used during transport.

• Are made in different sizes (A to E). • Are colour-coded.

What does the cylinder contain? • Nonliquified compressed gas: It dosent

liquify @ ordinary temp & pressures <2500psig

E.g. O2,N2, air, Hélium• Liquified compressed gas becomes liquid

in ordinary temp & pressures from 25-2500psig

E.g. Nitrous oxide,CO2

Cylinder Sizes

Standard ColorsGAS INTERNATIONAL

oxygen White

Carbon dioxide Gray

Nitrous oxide Blue

helium Brown

Nitrogen Black

air White & black

vaccum yellow

Pin index system

O2

2,5

N2O

3,5

CO2

1,6

•Pin index system to make it almost impossible to connect a cylinder to the wrong yoke

Valves• filled and discharged through a valve • attached to the neck,• made of bronze or brass.

Types

Tail pipe• Copper pipes are used.

• Connected with cylinder to manifold system through tail pipe/pig pipe.

Non Return valve• A non-return valve allows a

medium to flow in only one direction• Made up of brass

Manifold

For o2• 16 cylinders are used in either side of the

manifold.• One side is working at a time.• 2 emergency cylindersFor N2O• 6 cylinders on 2 sides.• 2 emergency cylinders cylinder pressure- 130 kg/cm² line presssure- 4.2 kg/cm²

Storage of cylinders• Stored under cover, preferably a cool dry

place.• Should not be stored near any combustible

materials.• Emergency services should be advised of

the location.• Precautions should be taken to protect

cylinder from theft.• Medical cylinders should be stored

separately from industrial and non medical cylinders.

Safe use of cylinders• Cylinders should be handled only by

trained person• Cylinder valves, regulator, Gauges, and

fitting should never come into contact of oils , greases , organic lubricants etc

• Cylinders should not be subjected to extreme of temperatures

• Connection to piping , regulator, and other equipments should always be kept tight to prevent leakage.

• No part of the cylinders should be painted or modified by users

• A cylinder should never come into contact of electricity

• Before use ,cylinder should be identified by the label. The color of the cylinder should not be relied upon for identification

• A pressure regulator should always be used.

Piped Gas Supply• A network of copper alloy pipelines from

central supply points.• The outlets are colour- and shape-coded to

accept matching probes.• Alarm panels.

Wall mounted outlet socket

Problems in piping• Inadequate pressure • Leaks• Alarm problems like,Failure, absence or disconnectionFalse alarm• Cross connection of différent gas.

• Different types of outlet sockets like,

SS type DIN type

• Bed head panel incorporates

Nurse Call Unit. Medical gas outlets Electrical Sockets/ Switches  Reading Lamp Room Lighting. Audio Unit

Hazards• Incorrect cylinders • Incorrect content • Incorrect valve• Damaged Valve • Suffocation • Fire• Explosion • Contamination of cylinder content• Theft of cylinder parts

Take home message…