Anesthesia systems

This report updates our 1996 Evaluation of systems used to administer inhalation (general) anesthesia (Health Devices 25[5-6], May-June 1996). In that issue, we evaluated a total of six systems (in nine configurations) manufactured by North American Drager (NAD) and Ohmeda. In this Update, we evaluate two additional models--the Cato and the Cicero EM, both of which are manufactured by Dräger Medizintechnik GmbH--according to the same test protocol. In the Conclusions section, we present a complete listing of the anesthesia systems we have evaluated to date in rating and ranking order. As in our original study, we base our conclusions largely on degree of system integration, suitability of the system for various types of procedures, and cost. Dräger Medizintechnik GmbH is the medical division of Drägerwerk AG (Lübeck, Germany), which is also the parent company of U.S.-based NAD--the manufacturer of three of the systems evaluated in our original study. Although both Dräger and NAD sell their products internationally, Drger's products are not sold in North America, and NAD's products are not sold in Germany. Thus, the two products evaluated in this issue are not available in the United States or Canada. This report, however, should be of interest to all our readers, including those in North America, because the newly evaluated systems have advanced features that, in the future, may be available in some form on systems marketed in North America.