Mazzetti, AGR to develop technologies that can capture anesthetic gases in hospitals

Engineering design and consulting firm Mazzetti Nash Lipsey Burch (Mazzetti) and Anesthetic Gas Reclamation, LLC (AGR) announced today that they are partnering to develop commercial applications for technology that recaptures anesthetic gases in hospitals.

AGR, founded by anesthesiologist Dr. James Berry, developed the technology for recapturing medical anesthetic gases, which are a potent greenhouse gas (up to 1,800 times as potent as CO2) and are normally discharged directly into the environment. The technology developed by AGR can capture 99 percent of anesthetic gases for potential re-use, preventing their release into the environment. AGR has also developed a special scavenging interface for anesthesia machines called the DGSS® (Dynamic Gas Scavenging System) that reduces the energy consumption used by hospital waste anesthetic gas disposal systems by up to 90 percent.

Mazzetti will partner with AGR to develop and refine these technologies for future widespread use by hospitals. As part of this partnership, Mazzetti will facilitate sales and installation of DGSS® valves; provide engineering design support for the complete AGR reclamation system (which includes DGSS® valves and gas capture); and perform demonstration projects and pilot installations of the complete AGR system.

"More than a half-million gallons of anesthetic is released into the environment every year and can represent up to ten percent of a hospital's total greenhouse gas emissions," said Arash Guity, Chief Environmental Performance Engineer for Mazzetti. "This new technology developed by AGR can therefore provide a big benefit to a hospital's bottom line, to patients and staff, and to the wider community."

While the gas capturing system is in the final process of testing before large-scale manufacturing, the DGSS® technology that significantly reduces energy consumption associated with exhausting the gases is already available. Mazzetti is offering an option to install the valves at no cost to the medical facility using a shared savings agreement.