Item:
Vaporiser Connection Mount - BOC

Date of manufacture:
Late 1960s

Manufacturer:
BOC.

Description:
These vaporiser connection mounts were supplied by BOC as part of the large order for Boyle 'M' Anaesthetic Machines that were purchased for the opening of the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff. The specially modified vaporisers had ports that mated with the probes of the mount. To remove a vaporiser, one simply released the spring retainer and pulled the vaporiser forwards. Few anaesthetists had any idea how heavy the vaporisers were so many were dropped on to the work surfaces, causing numerous accidents. Once the vaporiser was removed, it was necessary to fit the bridge unit shown to reinstate the integrity of the manifold. There was also a problem with gas leakage from some of the original models as the o-ring seals lost their seal integrity if the vaporisers drooped because they were not properly supported. These issues were addressed by subsequest designs.

Only one such mounting block should be fitted to any machine to prevent accidental use of two vaporisers in series as this would cause contamination of the downstram vaporiser with upstream volatile anaesthetic. Nevertheless, machines were sometimes fitted with a permanent Boyles ether bottle in the late 1960s as inhalation of ether/ CO2 was still considered to be a safe method for inducing anaesthesia in patients with full stomachs. The front comonent in the illustration is the bypass that was used when no vaporiser was in use.

Category:
Vaporiser

Accession Nr.:
20110366
.
Discussion:
 

References:
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