Medical Gas Systems

This section of the gallery focuses on compressed gas cylinders.

This receipt from 1904 indicates that 200 gallons of oxygen were sold by the American Oxygen Associaton to the New England Hospital for $10.00.

This 1909 receipt from the Standard Oxygen Company acknowledged the return of an empty oxygen cylinder.

The cylinder protectors were used in WWI to reduce the noise of cylinders banging against each other when they used near enemy lines. The device also eased lifting and transporting the cylinders.

This photo from 1920 shows the staff of an oxygen company with their delivery truck. The numerous cylinders on the deck and leaning against the wall of the building all appear to be unsecured.

The shoulder stampings on this cylinder indicate it was manufactured in August 1935 and that it passed retests in 1940 and 1945.

A vintage oxygen cylinder from the 1940s is pictured.

Piped-in oxygen was not a reality in the early years of our profession. The responsibility for transporting the large oxygen cylinders to the designated areas of the hospital fell upon the staff of the inhalation therapy departments, earning them the nickname of "tank jockey".

This Oxy-hale ad from an early issue of INHALATION THERAPY was for a portable oxygen dispenser that could be transported in one's pocket.

This 1951 photo shows a staff member from the inhalation therapy department of St. Francis Hospital in Peoria, Illinois returning a cylinder to the department.

This ad from an early issue of INHALATION THERAPY was for an "oxygen inhalator kit". The portable cylinder supplied 15 minutes of oxygen. The ad indicated it was "impossible to inhale overdose" due to the unit's patented control gauge.

Linde was one of the major oxygen suppliers in the 1950s and 1960s. This photo shows the cover of Linde's Oxygen Therapy handbook supplied to inhalation therapy departments.

This ad for cylinder trucks and dollies appeared in the March 1958 issue of the INHALATION THERAPY journal.

This ad from an early 1960s issue of INHALATION THERAPY shows the Oxy-Swig kit for emergency use of oxygen. The refillable device weighed 4 pounds and contained 45 liters of oxygen.

This portable system manufactured by the Save-A-Life Oxygen Company in Jenkintown, PA in the early 1960s could provide "up to 30 minutes of oxygen."

This portable system manufactured by the Save-A-Life Oxygen Company in Jenkintown, PA could provide "up to 30 minutes of oxygen."

The Breath-O2-Life sphere manufactured in Cleveland, Ohio contained one hour of "pure medical oxygen."

This emergency oxygen kit from Safety Laboratories contained two oxygen spheres.

This emergency oxygen kit from the 1960s was supplied in its own small suitcase. The brochure indicates the oxygen supply would last for 12 minutes.

The Oxy-Aid brochure the emergency oxygen kit could be used for "day or nite" for heart conditions, stroke, asphyxia, drwonng, asthma attacks, coma, fatigue, driving exhaustion, and migaine headaches.

This portable dual cylinder unit, "supplied in a beautiful luggage case" had a capacity of 600 liters of oxygen and could serve two people at the same time.

This cylinder is shown with an attached Bourdon gauge flowmeter.

A wrench was essential to open and close the valve on a small cylinder.

A large storage cart filled with full E cylinders is shown.

An oxygen cylinder storage room with multiple sizes of cylinders is shown.

This image from the early 2000s shows 11 sizes of oxygen cylinders.

A trans-fillable oxygen system is shown to fill a small portable cylinder from a larger compressed oxygen cylinder.

A 2014 label for an E cylinder is shown.

Medical gas mixtures are featured in this section of the gallery.

This photo shows a mixture of 95% oxygen and 5% carbon dioxide being administered via a resuscitator. This compressed gas mixture is sometimes referred to as carbogen.

This photo from the 1940s shows a patient receiving an "80-20" mixture of helium and oxygen via an oxygen hood.

This photo shows the compressed gas storage room with specific spots for different gas mixtures clearly labeled, that supplied the operating rooms at St. Francis Hospital, Peoria, Illinois in 1951.

This photo shows a cylinder of nitric oxide used in conjunction with a high frequency oscillator in a neonatal intensive care unit .

Oxygen flowmeters and regulators are featured in this section.

This nickel-plated, brass medical test gauge is stamped "Made for Dr. W.A. Drysdale by the Star Brass Manufacturing Company of Boston, MA. The gauge has a lever valve and thumb wheel for controlling air pressure.

The nitrous oxide regulator shown was manufactured in June 1913 as evidenced by a date stamp on the regulator manufactured by the Lennox Chemical Company, Cleveland, Ohio.

A large oxygen cylinder regulator with flowmeter from the 1940s is shown.

A Puritan Compressed Gas Company regulator, circa 1943, designed for the administration of 80%-20% helium-oxygen mixtures is shown.

This ad for yoke regulators from National Medical Equipment appeared in an early issue of INHALATION THERAPY journal.

A regulator manufactured by Victor for use on small cylinders is shown.

This ad for an oxygen cylinder regulator from the Liquid Carbonic Corporation appeared in an early issue of the INHALATION THERAPY journal.

St. Francis Hospital in Peoria, Illinois was one of the first in the country to have piped-in oxygen in a section of the facility. This photo from 1951 shows a flowmeter attached to the wall outlet. Note the exposed piping on the wall and the rubber delivery tubing from the flowmeter.

This ad for a "Liqui-Med Therapy Regulator" for oxygen oxygen cylinders appeared in an issue of the INHALATION THERAPY journal in the early 1960s.

An INHALATION THERAPY journal ad from the 1960s for Puritan's cylinder regulator and flowmeter is shown.

This ad for the Puritan washer to prevent leaks on small cylinders appeared in a 1960s issue of the INHALATION THERAPY journal.

Two flowmeters from National Cylinder Gas (NCG) are shown.

An oxygen flowmeter by Ohio Medical is shown in the off position in a wall outlet.

A Chemtron wall mount and connector for oxygen and a NCG flowmeter are shown.

Before meters that recorded oxygen usage were invented, staff in the inhalation therapy and oxygen departments manually calculated the patients' oxygen usage and submitted charges to the hospital billing office.

The bulletin boards behind the therapist identify all of the oxygen set-ups in the hospital. Notice the flowmeters, regulators, and related equipment on the shelves.

This ad for Ohio Chemical's "Totalizing Flowmeter" appeared in an 9160s issue of the INHALATION THERAPY journal. the flowmeter had an attached meter that tracked the liters of oxygen used.

This ad for the Timeter Oxygen Flow Timer appeared in a 1970s issue of the RESPIRATORY CARE journal. The unit attached to the outlet of the oxygen flowmeter and recorded the hours that oxygen was administered.

A Timeter Timeatron connected below a flowmeter and digitally displayed the hours of oxygen use.

A collection of intermittent flow regulators and pulse dose regulators are displayed.

A bulk O2 system is defined as one with a storage capacity with > 13,000 cubic feet of oxygen connected and ready for use or 25,000 cubic feet of oxygen available on site.

This 1951 photo from St. Francis Hospital in Peoria, Illinois shows the 41 ft. long, refillable oxygen cylinders that were used to supply the hospital's piped-in oxygen.

This photo from 1951 shows the Linde technician preparing to refill the long cylinders at St. Francis Hospital in Peoria, Illinois.

This photo shows the Linde technician reviewing the operation of the bulk oxygen system with the nun who was the director of the inhalation therapy department at St. Francis Hospital in Peoria Illinois in 1951.

The piped-in oxygen in a patient room in 1951 at St. Francis Hospital in Peoria Illinois is shown.

A close up of the oxygen outlet in a patient room at St. Francis Hospital in Peoria, Illinois in 1951 is shown.

This ad for Linde's bulk oxygen system appeared in a 1960's issue of the INHALATION THERAPY journal.

This 1990s photo shows the storage tanks and vaporizers of a bulk oxygen system.

This vintage photo shows banks of cylinders connected together via a manifold system.

B.H. Acomb's Patent for "Automatic Changeover Manifold" was granted in January 1961.

A modern cylinder manifold system is shown.

This section of the gallery features oxygen-air blenders and diluters.

In this 1940s photo, a diluter is shown placed between the outlet of the cylinder regulator and the oxygen delivery tubing.

In this Ohio Chemical ad from a 1950s issue of the INHALATION THERAPY journal, an oxygen diluter is shown in the lower portion. The diluter was designed for use with the Ohio 100 non-rebreathing mask and was adjustable between FIO2 0.40-0.90.

The Resp-Aid diluter was used in the 1950s-1960s and offered seven FIO2s: 0.32, 0.34, 0.37, 0.41, 0.50, 0.60, or 0.95.

Forrest M. Bird and Henry L. Pohndorf were the inventors of the oxygen-air blender which was patented on July 22, 1975.

A Bird oxygen blender from the 1980s is shown.

Three oxygen blenders are shown: Ohio, Bird, and Veriflo

An assortment of oxygen blenders and proportioners are shown.

A Siemens Oxygen-Air Mixer Model 965 is shown.

A Maxblend low flow, oxygen air blender is shown.

Oxygen concentrators and liquid oxygen systems for home care are featured in this section

Bendix Corporation's Respiratory Support System, was a molecular sieve concentrator.

Three stationary oxygen concentrators are shown in this 2014 photo.

Some of the early portable concentrators were equivalent in size to rolling, carry-on luggage.

Dr. Tom Petty had long recommended that portable oxygen concentrators (POCs) should ideally weigh less than 10 pounds. Since that goal was first achieved in 2002, POCs have continued to become more lightweight. Some models currently available weigh less than 5 pounds.

Since 2009, passengers requiring oxygen may use FAA-approved portable concentrators on most commercial flights. Passengers with POCs must give advance notification to the airline of their intent to travel with POCs, as well as present their prescription for oxygen and their release for air travel from their physicians.

A patient is shown refilling a portable unit from a stationary liquid oxygen reservoir in her home.

An patient is shown using her portable oxygen system.

The Respironics HomeLOX combines a concentrator, liquid dewar, and refillable portable device called the GoLox in one unit. The portable GoLox weighs less than 4 pounds while the stationary reservoir weighs approximately 100 pounds.

A variety of liquid oxygen reservoirs and portable units are shown.

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