What is the use of compressed air systems in hospitals?

What is the use of compressed air systems in hospitals?

The hospital is a place with very high requirements for air quality. The use of compressed air in the hospital is much more extensive than most people think, and it runs through almost all aspects of diagnosis and treatment, surgery, nursing, and logistics.

The core purpose is to supply gas to medical equipment. Pneumatic surgical tools, anesthesia machines, and ventilators in the operating room all require compressed air to drive or assist in their work. The dental drills, polishers and scalers in the dental clinic also rely on compressed air. Respiratory support equipment and first aid equipment in ICU are also inseparable from compressed air. These devices have a common feature, that is, compressed air will directly or indirectly contact the patient's body, so the air cleanliness requirements are extremely high, no oil, no water, no impurities.

Analytical instruments in the laboratory also require compressed air. For example, blood analyzers, biochemical analyzers, and gas chromatographs use compressed air to drive the internal gas path to help complete the detection and analysis of samples. If there is oil in the air, it will pollute the sample, resulting in inaccurate test results, directly affecting the doctor's judgment.

The equipment in the ward is also using compressed air. The lifting adjustment of the hospital bed, the pneumatic brake of the wheelchair, and the pneumatic fixation of the infusion rack are all completed by compressed air. The pneumatic logistics transmission system in the outpatient hall uses compressed air to quickly send blood samples, medicines, and laboratory tests from one department to another through pipelines, greatly improving efficiency.

The oxygen generator is also related to compressed air. Some of the centralized oxygen supply systems in the hospital are separated from compressed air to obtain high-purity oxygen, which is then sent to various wards and operating rooms.

The disinfection supply center also uses compressed air in the cleaning and sterilization process to dry the moisture on the surface of the instrument or to drive automated cleaning equipment.

The air valve and air door control in the air conditioning system also rely on compressed air to adjust the opening and closing to ensure accurate ventilation and temperature control in different areas.

Of all these uses, the biggest headache for hospitals is the problem of oil pollution in the air. Traditional air compressors use oil to lubricate the parts inside the machine, and more or less oil mist is mixed into the compressed air. These oil mists are invisible to the naked eye, but they are very harmful to medical equipment and patients. Oil can block the gas path of precision instruments, contaminate parts of respiratory equipment that contact patients, and may even pose a risk of infection.

The water-lubricated air compressor can participate in the work well in the air supply system of the hospital. This air compressor does not use lubricating oil, but uses water to complete lubrication and sealing, so there is no oil mist in the air produced. Water forms a layer of water film inside the machine, separating the moving parts, which not only reduces friction and wear, but also takes away the heat generated during compression. Although the air will bring some moisture, but as long as the back with drying equipment to remove the moisture, you can get very pure, completely oil-free compressed air.

In the complete air supply scheme of the hospital, the water-lubricated air compressor is usually used together with drying equipment and precision filtering equipment, and is adjusted according to the needs of different air consumption links, so that the operating room, ventilator and dentistry, which are in direct contact with patients, use high-quality oil-free air, and the bed adjustment, pneumatic logistics and other links use sufficient air, thus ensuring medical safety and accurate detection, there is no waste of energy. For hospitals that do not stop the machine throughout the year and have extremely strict requirements on air quality, water-lubricated air compressors are a very suitable choice.