Background and Identification
Anesthetic vaporizers are typically attached to an anesthesia machine and control the concentration of the anesthetic agent in the gas delivered to the patient. Its function is to vaporize the anesthetic agent from liquid form and then to combine it with fresh air to create a gas mixture with the desired concentration. Vaporizers must take into account the flow rate of the fresh gas, the vapor pressure of the anesthetic compound, and the ambient pressure and temperature. These vary in design based on the driving pressure, with Plenum vaporizers relying on positive pressure from the anesthesia machine and Drawover vaporizers being driven by the negative pressure produced by the patient’s diaphragm/lungs.