Anaesthesia machine with two vaporizers.
The most important piece of equipment that the anaesthesiologist uses is the anaesthesia machine. Safe use of anaesthesia machine depends upon an interaction between the basic design of the machine with its safety features and the knowledge and skills of the anaesthesiologist. The basic function of an anaesthesia machine is to prepare a gas mixture of precisely known, but variable composition. The gas mixture can then be delivered to a breathing system. Anaesthesia machine itself has evolved from a simple pneumatic device to a complex array of mechanical, electrical and computer – controlled components. An anaesthetic machine is a medical device used to generate and mix a fresh gas flow of medical gases and inhalational anaesthetic agents for the purpose of inducing and maintaining anaesthesia.