Medical gas may be useful for many medical and dental treatments, including being life sustaining in some situations. The key is being able to carefully monitor the system to be sure that the proper amount is being utilized and that a failure of the system hasn’t occurred. There are three types of alarms that can be part of any medical gas system: local, master and area alarms.
- Local alarm- A local alarm is often a part of the piece of source equipment. It is designed to let the user know if there is a problem primarily with the equipment itself.
- Area alarm- An area alarm is put into place to monitor the medical gas levels in a specific area or zone, such as a single operating room, dental exam room, or treatment room.
- Master alarm- Larger medical facilities generally utilize both master and area alarms, with the master alarm panel being monitored by personnel continuously during the hours of operation, which is 24/7 in the case of hospitals and similar medical facilities. The monitoring person has been trained on what to do should the master alarm be activated. This master alarm often monitors more than one kind of medical gas, such as nitrous oxide, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and oxygen.
It is important to note that any facility with medical gas should have not only established protocols for the installation and monitoring of master and area alarms, but also the regular maintenance of these systems to be sure they are operating as they should. If you are in the Durham, North Carolina area, you can turn to us at Pure-Line Plumbing for a variety of medical gas services, including those related to master and area alarms.