Types of Medical Gas Piping
Oxygen is used for patients who require supplemental oxygenation due to hypoxemia and hypoxia (insufficient oxygen in the blood). This system most often consists of a large storage system of liquid oxygen. It is then evaporated into a concentrated oxygen supply for ease of use at point of delivery. For medical centers or hospitals with a low patient capacity, oxygen is supplied by multiple standard cylinders, as opposed to evaporated liquid oxygen.
Nitrous Oxide, or laughing gas, is used as an analgesic and an anesthetic for pre-operative procedures. Nitrous oxide is generally delivered to the hospital in standard tanks and is then supplied through the building’s medical gas system.
Nitrogen is often used to power up surgical equipment during various procedures and to measure a person’s response to a simulated aircraft cabin environment in preflight lung testing. This is known as hypoxic challenge testing. Nitrogen can also be used as a cryogen to freeze and preserve tissue, blood, and other biological specimens. It is also used to freeze and destroy diseased tissue collected in dermatology and cryosurgery.
Carbon Dioxide is generally used to suspend or inflate various tissues. It is also frequently used in laser surgeries. Most commonly, carbon dioxide is used in abdominal and thoracic surgeries wherein the surgeon may need to move various organs to get to one particular area of the body. Carbon dioxide is also sometimes combined with oxygen or air for respiratory simulation and treatment of various respiratory disorders.
Medical Air is supplied by a specialized air compressor to patient care areas. Clean outside air is pressurized and brought inside to the patient. Medical air should never be used
- as oxygen for HVAC controls or
- to provide power to surgery tools.
Medical air is used extensively in the PICU, NICU, and ICU areas, and also with pulmonary nebulizers to reduce the risk of excess oxygen in the lungs or other body tissues, during mechanical ventilation or surgical procedures.
Helium, or Heliox, is often used to treat fixed partial upper airway obstructions or increased air resistance help patients breathe easier. It is also used in a liquefied form to help MRI machines to reach a superconducting state, which allows the MRI to produce high-resolution body images without exposing the patient to radiation.
Carbon Monoxide is only used in very trace amounts as an ingredient in lung diffusion testing. This test helps medical staff determine how well a patient’s lungs are exchanging gases.
In addition to these main gases, there are a number of medical gas mixtures that are often used for patient diagnostics such as lung function or blood-gas analysis. Test gases are also used to calibrate and maintain medical devices that are employed in the delivery of anesthetic gases. Medical gases are also used in a laboratory environment where bacterial cultures may be grown in controlled aerobic or anaerobic incubator atmospheres.
