Gas Scavenger

Catalog Record: Gas Scavenger

Access Key: akur
Accession No.: 2000-01-25-2 AA

Title: [Dissected gas scavenger on acrylic stand.]

Author: Bowie, Eddie.

Title variation: Alt Title
Title: Open interface for a gas scavenging system.

Publisher: [Place of manufacture not indicated] : [Manufacturer not indicated], [between 1975 and 2000].

Physical Descript: 1 model gas scavenger interface : metals, plastics ; 47 x 14 x 14 cm.

Subject: Gas Scavengers.
Subject: Air Pollution, Indoor – prevention & control.

Note Type: General
Notes: Title based on the WLM common name for the device; Alternate title is a
descriptive title based on the 1994 text titled, Understanding Anesthesia
Equipment, by Dorsch and Dorsch.

Note Type: General
Notes: The early date (1975] in the date range for the possible year of manufacture
is an estimate based on the year (1977) that the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) first recommended gas scavenging for
inhalation anesthetics. The end date is based on the year that Mr. Bowie
donated this item to the WLM. The date range could change if documentation
indicates it should be corrected.

Note Type: Citation
Notes: Dorsch JA, Dorsch SE. Controlling trace gas levels. Understanding Anesthesia
Equipment: Construction, Care and Complications. 3rd ed. Baltimore: Williams
& Wilkins; 1994:289-300.

Note Type: Citation
Notes: Ehrenfeld JM, Areti YK. Medical gas supply, vacuum, and scavenging. In:
Vacanti CA, Sikka PK, Urman RD, Dershwitz M, Segal BS, eds. Essential
Clinical Anesthesia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2011:126-128.

Note Type: Citation
Notes: OSHA Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management. Anesthetic
gases: guidelines for workplace exposures. Occupational Safety & Health
Administration website. https://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/anestheticgases/#A.
Published July 20, 1999. Revised May 18, 2000. Accessed April 3, 2014.

Note Type: Citation
Notes: Trentman TL. Scavenging waste gases benefits the staff but may harm the
patient. Marcucci C, Cohen NA, Metro DG, Kirsch JR, eds. Avoiding Common
Anesthesia Errors. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins; 2008:405-409.

Note Type: Physical Description
Notes: One open interface for a gas scavenging system; The measurements provided in
the physical description includes the acrylic base and stand that hold the
interface in position; Without the base and stand the total measurements are
approximately 45 x 10 x 14 cm; The main body of the interface is a
cylindrical canister, or reservoir, with a longitudinal section removed to
expose two long metal tubes inside; The tubes run parallel to one another;
The canister is painted a cream color; Holes, approximately 1 cm in diameter,
puncture the canister horizontally at its upper end; These act as vents to
provide positive and negative pressure relief; The exhaust tube (transfers
gas from the scavenging valve, or gas collecting assembly, to the interface)
and the disposal tube are located at the top of the canister and have also
been dissected to better reveal the flow to waste gas; One of the long metal
tubes inside of the canister connects to the exhaust tube, and the other
connects to the active disposal system (continuous suction); On the exhaust
ports is tape that is marked with, “SCAVENGER HOSE”; A turn knob for the
valve that regulates the flow of suction sits opposite the disposal port; A
sticker on the base of the canister is marked with, “CAUTION – FEDERAL LAW
RESTRICTS [new line] THIS DEVICE TO SALE BY [new line] OR ON THE ORDER OF A
PHYSICIAN”.

Note Type: Reproduction
Notes: Photographed by Mr. Steve Donisch, September 16, 2013.

Note Type: Acquisition
Notes: Donated to the WLM by Mr. Eddie Bowie.

Note Type: Historical
Notes: Gas scavenging systems are a part of all modern anesthesia machines, which
are complex devices used for the administration of anesthetics, the support
or control of breathing, and patient monitoring. Gas scavenging systems help
prevent operating room air from accumulating more than trace amounts of
inhalation anesthetics, like nitrous oxide, isoflurane, or desflurane.

This is a commonly used ‘interface’ for an anesthetic gas scavenger. The main
body of this type of interface is a cylindrical reservoir with small openings
to the atmosphere. Excess gas from the anesthesia machine is directed into
the reservoir from the top and through a metal tube in the center. This inner
metal tube opens near the base of the reservoir. A second tube (not seen in
the photo), also open at the base, is connected at the top to constant
suction from the disposal system. The reservoir is large enough to
temporarily hold excess gas if it is released faster than the disposal system
carries it away.

Mr. Eddie Bowie of the University of Chicago created ‘cutaways’ from pieces
of equipment used in anesthesia machines to help anesthesiology students and
residents learn how anesthesia machines functioned. He carefully cut the body
of this interface open to expose the inner parts.

Note Type: Exhibition
Notes: Selected for the WLM website.