Blood Gas Analyzer Components

Blood gas analysis is a medical procedure that is used to measure the pressure of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood, as well as the concentration of hydrogen ions in your arteries. The analysis of blood gas helps medical professionals diagnose respiratory diseases and evaluate metabolic conditions. The equipment used for such analysis, blood gas analyzers, has certain components.

Electrodes

• A blood gas analyzer should have electrodes that can measure the concentration of hydrogen ions in a person's blood, as well as the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide. It should also be able to detect minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium.

Analyzer Controller

• The blood gas analyzer should have a controller which displays results of the analysis. It provides input on matters such as the patient's base excess of blood, oxygen content, oxygen saturation, total carbon dioxide and respiratory index. The results should be displayed on the device's screen. The device should also have a monitor screen, an external keypad, mouse and bar code reader. It should have the ability to interface with a computer.

Other Components

• Other components are also found in a blood gas analyzer. One component is a reagent that uses liquid calibration and performs regular calibration. The reagent should have a standby mode with an auto wake up facility. A sampler helps take samples for the blood gas analysis. The sampler should be able to accept an adequate sample volume for the blood gas analysis. Also, the sampler should accept whole blood, serum or plasma and other samples. The sampler should also provide the facility to measure some parameters in a patient's cerebrospinal fluid. A waste bag is another component of a blood gas analyzer. This component is sealed to prevent any biohazard to the operator of the device.