In health care facilities, isolated powered circuits in hazardous inhalation anesthetizing locations must be supplied by which type of transformer?

The requirement for an isolated powered circuit in hazardous inhalation anesthetizing locations relates to ensuring patient safety and minimizing the risk of electrical shock. An isolation transformer is specifically designed to provide electrical isolation between the primary power source and the secondary circuit.

This isolation helps to prevent any ground faults in the power system from affecting the electrical supply in the anesthetizing area, where sensitive equipment operates and where there is a higher risk of electric shock due to the presence of conductive fluids and gases. Additionally, isolation transformers often help to reduce electrical noise and enhance the quality of power delivery, which is crucial for the performance of sensitive medical devices.

While other types of transformers, such as grounded transformers, step-down transformers, and auto transformers, have specific uses in electrical systems, they do not provide the same level of safety and isolation required in healthcare settings that handle anesthetics. A grounded transformer connects the system directly to the ground, which can introduce potential hazards in such an environment. Step-down transformers simply reduce voltage but do not offer isolation, and auto transformers do not provide galvanic isolation at all, which makes them unsuitable for use in high-risk areas. Thus, an isolation transformer is the correct choice for supplying power to these critical areas in healthcare facilities.