Anesthesia Equipment and Technology Flashcards

What does BIS (Bispectral Index) monitoring measure?

Answer: Depth of anesthesia via processed EEG

BIS is a processed electroencephalographic parameter that provides a dimensionless number (0–100) correlating with depth of hypnosis and risk of awareness under anesthesia.

Train-of-four (TOF) monitoring is used to assess what?

Answer: Degree of neuromuscular blockade

TOF monitoring applies four supramaximal electrical stimuli to a peripheral nerve and counts the resulting muscle twitches to quantify the degree of non-depolarizing neuromuscular blockade.

In a double-lumen endotracheal tube, which lumen is used when the bronchial cuff is positioned in the left mainstem bronchus during a right thoracotomy?

Answer: Tracheal lumen ventilates the right lung

With a left-sided DLT, the bronchial lumen inflated in the left bronchus isolates the left lung, allowing the tracheal lumen to ventilate the right lung during right-sided thoracic surgery.

The Wright respirometer is used intraoperatively to measure what?

Answer: Exhaled tidal volume

The Wright respirometer is a mechanical device that measures exhaled tidal and minute volumes by counting rotations of a vane turned by gas flow.

Which alarm is considered the highest priority on modern anesthesia workstations according to ISO standards?

Answer: Apnea or disconnect alarm

Apnea/disconnect alarms are highest priority because they indicate immediate life-threatening failure of ventilation, requiring the fastest provider response.

What is the purpose of the oxygen flush valve on an anesthesia machine?

Answer: Delivers 100% O2 at 35–75 L/min directly to the common gas outlet, bypassing the vaporizer

The O2 flush valve delivers a high flow (35–75 L/min) of 100% oxygen directly to the breathing circuit, bypassing flowmeters and vaporizers, and is used to rapidly fill the circuit or increase FiO2.