Laboratory evaluation of the vital signs (ICOR) piezoelectric anesthetic agent analyzer.

The Vital Signs (ICOR) anesthetic agent analyzer, which measures anesthetic vapor concentration by a piezoelectric crystal technique, was evaluated by using standard-calibration gases to measure the accuracy, response time, gas interference, and water vapor dependence of the analyzer. The accuracy for the measurement of vapor concentration was better than 0.08 vol%. The reproducibility of repeated measures averaged 0.003 vol%. The offsets caused by other gases were 0.02 vol% for water vapor, 0.08 vol% for 70% nitrous oxide, and less than 0.01 vol% for oxygen and carbon dioxide. Response time (10 to 90%) was 475 ms. The agent analyzer may be well suited for monitoring volatile agent concentrations during anesthesia.