Perspectives on electrical equipment used in oxygen-enriched atmospheres

The medical community has not seriously examined the safety of using medical devices in oxygen-enriched atmospheres (OEA) or with nitrous oxide. A review of applicable codes and standards, reports of actual incidents, and experiments on minimum ignition energy and on determining the extent of OEA around a patient receiving respiratory therapy suggests that guidelines are needed. Several means of ensuring the safety of electrical equipment to be used in conjunction with oxygen are recommended. These include: compliance with standards for flammable atmospheres; sealing to prevent OEA from reaching electrical components; ventilating to limit oxygen concentration; and limiting potential spark energy and surface temperatures. These recommendations are made in the hope that the medical community will address this issue further.