FAQs

General

Please email a picture of the product in the shape you received it to orders@precisionmedical.com. Include the name, address, and account number (if you have one) associated with the order within the email.

EasyPulse5 & EasyPulse5+6 – Oxygen Conserving Regulators

Precision Medical’s oxygen conservers are designed to be used with high-pressure oxygen systems. It consists of a cylinder connection, cylinder contents gauge, high-to-low pressure regulator, orifice plate and a conserving demand module. The regulator reduces the high pressure of the cylinder to the working pressure of the orifice plate. The orifice plate uses calibrated orifices to deliver a selected flow to the conserving demand module. The conserving demand module controls the pulse size and timing to the patient. It supplies a pulse of oxygen at the beginning of each breath. This reduces the oxygen demand on the system and also limits the drying of the patient’s airways. The flow is determined by setting the flow control knob to the prescribed flow. Finally the oxygen is supplied to the patient through the cannula.

Our oxygen conservers are intended to regulate high pressure cylinders that provide supplemental oxygen to oxygen users who have difficulty extracting oxygen from the air they breathe in. Our conserving regulators are for patients who would normally receive their oxygen via a nasal cannula. EasyPulse5 and EasyPulse 5+6 deliver 100% oxygen at flow settings and are used as an oxygen saving device.

Fittings & Hoses

Medical gas fittings are designed to prevent cross-connection and keep staff from plugging the wrong gas into the wrong outlet.

They do this using:

  • Different shapes
  • Different pin patterns
  • Different diameters
  • Different latch / notch / keying patterns

The idea is: You should not be able to plug an O₂ hose into an air, nitrogen, or vacuum outlet just by mistake.

No. Color codes are not universal.

Examples:
United States

  • Oxygen: green
  • Air: yellow
  • Vacuum: white


Canada & other countries

  • Vacuum may be yellow, even if the fitting style (DISS, Ohmeda, etc.) looks just like what you see in the U.S

This one is backwards from what most people assume.


Conductive hose

  • Has a black inner core
  • Its job is to prevent static build-up
  • Required in environments where a spark is dangerous:
  • ORs
  • Waste Anesthesia Gas Disposal (WAGD)
  • Any area with anesthetic gases or high oxygen concentration


Non-conductive hose

  • Has a clear braided inner core
  • Can build up static


So:
“Conductive” = safe from static
“Non-conductive” = can conduct static (counterintuitive, but that’s the convention)

Our configurator and standard builds typically cap hoses at 25 feet for two big reasons:

1. Static electricity

  • Even conductive hose becomes less effective as it gets very long
  • Longer hose = more surface area = more potential for static buildup

2. Resistance & pressure drop

  • Resistance to flow is driven by diameter and length
  • Very long hoses (30–50 ft):
  • Increase pressure drop
  • The device (ventilator, blender, etc.) may no longer see 50 psi at the inlet
  • That can affect performance (flow delivery, alarms, etc.)

DISS (Diameter Index Safety System)

  • Medical gas fitting
  • Straight thread
  • Seals with an O-ring
  • Used to connect medical fittings to medical fittings (hose to device, hose to quick connect, etc.)

NPT (National Pipe Thread)

  • Plumbing thread, not gas-identity-specific
  • Tapered thread (wider at one end)
  • Seals metal-to-metal with thread engagement
  • Used for threaded ports in metal blocks, Ys, manifolds, etc.

Because:

  • Oxygen DISS and 1/4″ NPT are similar in physical size
  • Someone measures with a ruler, sees “about 1/4 inch,” and orders the wrong thing

If they wanted to hook up to a DISS hose, but accidentally ordered the NPT version, it will not seal correctly.

Demand check valves live inside quick-connect couplers such as:

  • Ohmeda couplers
  • Chemetron couplers
  • PB couplers, etc.

They work like this:

  • When the male probe is inserted, it pushes a stem and opens the valve
  • When the probe is removed, the valve closes, stopping gas flow

So gas only flows when a device/hose is demanding gas.

Flowmeters

Chrome Flowmeter (1MFA):

  • Brass body, chrome plated
  • Brass needle valve
  • Back-pressure compensated Thorpe tube
  • Repairable (can be disassembled, serviced, re-O-ringed, etc.)
  • Heavier – more mass hanging from the wall outlet

Aluminum Flowmeter (5MFA):

  • Aluminum body (no chrome plating)
  • Same calibration spec as chrome: equally accurate
  • Lighter – less stress on wall outlet O-rings, better for Ys and crash carts
  • The new 5MFA aluminum line uses the same flow tube, same housing, same ball, same needle valve design as the 1MFA chrome line

Best environments for dial flowmeters:

  • EMS (ambulances, squads)
  • Helicopter and fixed-wing transport
  • Transport ventilators
  • Areas where devices get:
  • Knocked around
  • Stored in tight cases
  • Frequently moved/transported

Dial flowmeters pros:

  • Very rugged, aluminum housing
  • Few exposed parts to break
  • Can be used in any orientation (no need to stay vertical)

Dial flowmeters limitations:

  • Not back-pressure compensated
  • They don’t show you if downstream resistance is affecting actual flow
  • No fractional LPM
  • You get fixed positions: 1, 2, 3 LPM, etc.
  • You cannot set 1.5 or 2.5 LPM
  • Not appropriate for neonatal/pediatric use
  • No visual flow feedback
  • No ability to fine-tune very low flows

Special variant: Top connection dial flowmeter

  • Designed for:
  • Ceiling outlets
  • Drop hoses in ORs/Cath labs
  • Scenarios where the outlet is above/overhead
  • Because Thorpe tubes must be vertical to be accurate, top connection dial flowmeters
    give flexibility where orientation would otherwise be a problem

Power Takeoffs (PTOs):

  • Provide 50 psi pressure for:
  • Ventilators
  • BiPAP machines
  • High-flow or high-demand devices
  • They are demand check valves:
  • When nothing is connected, they’re closed.
  • When you connect a hose, they open and feed 50 psi
  • Available as:
  • Single PTO
  • Dual PTO
  • Can be combined with Y blocks in several configurations

T Branches (offset manifolds):

  • Used when multiple outlets (O₂, air, vacuum) are mounted very close together
  • A regular flowmeter or Y Block might physically interfere with:
  • Vacuum regulator
  • Neighboring gas outlets
  • Can be ordered offset right or offset left
  • Shift the flowmeter horizontally away from the central axis of the outlet
  • Free up space so that:
  • Flowmeters and Y blocks don’t block vacuum regulators
  • Everything can be accessed safely and easily

Ideal for:

  • Crowded headwalls
  • Old rooms retrofitted with more modern equipment
  • High-acuity rooms with multiple devices on the same panel

Medical Suction and Flow Technology

In real life, vacuum regulators show pressure (mmHg) on the gauge. Flow is what actually moves secretions and keeps a lumen open.

We traditionally set 20 mmHg, 80 mmHg, 100 mmHg, 150 mmHg, etc., but the real clinical question is, “is there actually flow through this lumen, or am I just pulling on a blocked tube?”

Key ideas:

  • Pressure = what you set
  • Flow = what clears secretions and keeps the lumen patent

The ideal is low, safe suction pressures, with enough flow to clear secretions quickly and prevent blockage.

1. Calibrated low vacuum for subglottic use

  • You can set specific low pressures: 20 mmHg, 30 mmHg, 40 mmHg, etc.
  • It is calibrated to those low values, which is important for delicate subglottic tissue

2. Built-in flow indicator ball

  • Located at the bottom of the regulator in a clear vertical tube
  • When flow ≥ ~3 L/min, the ball rises into a clear, non-frosted window
  • Ball up → this is actual flow → lumen is patent
  • Ball down → little/no flow → lumen may be occluded or there’s another system issue

3. Internal Venturi for added flow at low vacuum

  • Standard vacuum regulators at 20-30 mmHg provide very little flow
  • PM9100 has extra Venturi technology to boost flow even at low pressures

The PMX 900 Filtered Vacuum Trap is more than a conventional trap. It combines:

1. Vacuum trap function

  • Collects fluids/secretions before they reach the vacuum regulator and wall system
  • Includes a float shutoff:
  • When the trap fills, the float rises and blocks flow, preventing overflow.
  • Has a built-in bacteria filter (~0.4 µm) to help protect:
  • The vacuum regulator internals
  • The wall vacuum system

2. Flow indicator function

  • There is a green ball in a vertical chamber on the trap
  • When flow ≥ ~3 L/min, the ball floats up into a visible window
  • Works for:
  • Continuous suction
  • Intermittent suction (ball floats when suction is “on”)

Applications include:

  • Subglottic lumens
  • Especially when used in conjunction with PM9100 or even with a standard regulator
  • Double-checks flow visually
  • Nasogastric (NG) or orogastric (OG) tubes
  • If an NG line blocks:
  • The stomach can fill.
  • The patient may vomit and aspirate.
  • PMX ball not moving = early warning sign to check the NG patency.
  • General airway suction
  • Endotracheal or tracheostomy suctioning
  • Lack of ball movement suggests a plug in the catheter, tubing, canister, or trap
  • Chest tube drainage systems (conceptual adjunct)
  • Traditional water-seal/bottle systems already show some info
  • A flow indicator at the vacuum side adds another layer of reassurance that suction is actually drawing