Health Sciences · Hospital for Sick Children
A reflective metal instrument, generally cylindrical in form, with a circular dial on the upper front surface. The dial has a red disk or button at its centre. The instrument is suspended at its upper rear from a stand that is made from the same reflective material. Inlet and outlet valves are at the upper rear of the instrument.
Labels and letting on this instrument are red, which is conventional for vaporizers used with halothane.
On the lower front-left of the instrument is a feature with a small window for monitoring the quantity of liquid anesthetic remaining. On the lower front-right is a filling assembly.
A plastic calibration tag is attached to the top of the instrument by a metal chain.
Note: Only representative examples of the Cyprane Vaporizers in the Hospital for Sick Children collection have been catalogued. For a full list, including serial numbers and other details, see this inventory document.
Accession Number: 2024.sk.9
Alternative Name: Halothane Vapouriser
Brass (coated with copper and nickel, and chromium-plated)
On a maker’s tag screwed to the top surface: Serial No: “19607,A”, Type “”1”
A grey distributor’s label from Ohmeda in Rexdale, Ontario is stained and mostly illegible. It indicates the “Next Service Date” as January of 1988.
Dimensions (cm): Height = 24.5, Width = 19, Length = 20.
A vaporizer is a device for administering calibrated doses of anesthetic vapor by controlling the flow of a carrier gas (primarily oxygen). This device is used to administer the general anesthetic Halothane (identified on this instrument by the brand name Fluothane).
The device is first charged with liquid anesthetic. The gas flow is divided into two streams using a valve set by the operator. One stream enters the vaporizing chamber where it contacts vapor from the liquid anesthetic. The other is a bypass stream.
This vaporizer has an additional mechanism that accounts for temperature using a bimetallic strip to adjust the flow through the bypass chamber.
The instrument is in generally good cosmetic condition but needs cleaning. The clear surface coating over much of the instrument appears to be deteriorated. Certain fixtures, notably the fasteners at the centre of the lower portion of the stand, are rusted.
Associated Instruments:
Manufacturer: Cyprane Ltd. Keighley, England
Date of Manufacture: Mid 20th c.
Provenance:
Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology (WLM) in Schaumburg, IL, USA provides a detailed description of the vaporizer technology in a catalogue entry for a Cyprane Fluothane Vaporizer. (Webpage archived 27 April 2025)
William Edmondson and Wilfred Jones (Cyprane Ltd.). Improvements in volatile anaesthetic vaporising apparatus. GB Patent GB814427A. Issued June 3, 1959.
William Edmondson and Wilfred Jones (Cyprane Ltd.). Volatile anaesthetic vaporizing apparatus. US Patent US2915061A. Issued Dec 1, 1959.
William Edmondson and Wilfred Jones (Cyprane Ltd.). Volatile anaesthetic vaporizing apparatus. US Patent US3192924A. Issued July 6, 1965.
Historical Notes: