Oxygen Safety

Oxygen safety improvements for the Vetario intensive care units.

Elevated oxygen concentration is a vital tool in the successful recovery of animals from a variety of conditions but when combined with other elements of an intensive care unit (electronics, fans, heaters, etc.) it can pose a very real fire risk if the hazards aren’t properly controlled and the intensive care unit very carefully designed.

The original Vetario S40M and S50M were designed and manufactured to conform to the oxygen safety requirements of EN 60601-2-19:1996, an international standard for medical incubators. The EN 60601 series of medical standards were radically updated when the earlier standards were withdrawn in 2012 and the risk of fire from increased oxygen concentration was subject to individual risk analysis as well as significantly more onerous specific controls. We couldn’t be sure that the S40M and S50M would conform to the new standard so they were withdrawn from sale. In the intervening period we developed a risk management system for control of oxygen related fire hazards and the products were re-developed to provide extra checks and increased safety. This process was then checked by BSI as being appropriate for the risks involved. On this basis the replacement T40M and T50M models were launched in Spring 2014 to conform to the oxygen fire safety clauses of the current EN 60601-1:2006 + corrigenda 2006 & 2007 standard. This process led to our oxygen-compatible intensive care units being unavailable for many months, but we were not prepared to compromise on safety.

The Vetario T40M and T50M provide full small animal intensive care facilities plus the appropriate control of oxygen fire hazards.

With staff and patient safety a top priority for all employers we believe these two Vetario units are the only models available with full control of these risks.