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by Joan Trombetti

This article is from in the October 2007 issue of DOTmed Business News. A list of registered users that provide sales & service can be found at the end.



Most of us take anesthesia and the equipment that goes along with it for granted. But before the discovery of anesthesia, things were a bit more rudimentary. Often, a swig of whiskey was one way to dull pain.

Over a century ago, however, it was discovered that the inhalation of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) created a state of intoxication. Those under the influence became insensitive to pain and highly amused. Dr. Horace Wells, in fact, performed painless dentistry under nitrous oxide in 1844. Around the same time, Dr. Crawford Long began using ether as an anesthetic.

In 1890, a specialist in the anesthesiology field, Dr. Frederick Hewitt, designed one of the first pieces of anesthesiology equipment, a nitrous oxide face mask that delivered gas via a large rubber reservoir bag and a three-way valve. Pure nitrous oxide was administered until a patient turned blue. The valve was then opened to allow one or two breaths of air (two if the patient appeared to be waking up). This routine continued until the surgery was complete.

Modern era begins

The end of World War II in 1945 brought major developments in the field of anesthesiology, beginning the modern era of anesthesia equipment that has evolved with all its bells and whistles. Today, safe anesthetics, microchips, finger cuff sensors, memory banks, tiny electrodes, bright displays and liquid crystal thermometers allow an anesthesiologist to monitor a patient's progress before, during and after a surgical procedure.




The equipment

Anesthesia equipment (commonly called systems or workstations) are tools that allow the anesthesiologist to put a patient to sleep before surgery and wake them up afterwards. Systems or workstations consist of functional sections for ventilation, including source of gases, flowmeters/mixers for gas dosage, vaporizers for storage and dosage of inhalation agents, patient breathing systems, ventilators, monitoring equipment and accessories.

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