Oxygen and PSA
VIPR (valve with integrated pressure regulator)
A VIPR (valve with integrated pressure regulator) is a medical gas cylinder valve that combines a valve and a pressure regulator in one unit; ISO 10524-3:2019 specifies design, type testing and marking requirements for VIPRs used to administer medical gases or to drive surgical tools.
The ISO summary gives oxygen, medical air and oxygen/nitrous oxide mixtures as example gases, and applies the standard to VIPRs on refillable cylinders with a working pressure up to 300 bar, filled in cylinder filling facilities or on self-filling systems used in homecare. The VIPRs it covers are pressure pre-set, with a pressure outlet and/or pre-set flow outlets. ISO 10524-3:2019, the second edition, is listed as to be revised, and ISO expects it to be replaced by ISO/FDIS 10524-3 within the coming months.
NHS England's HTM 02-01 Part B (2026) lists the VIPR among five medical gas cylinder valve types and says it combines a regulator and valve as a single unit. Some VIPR-valved cylinders need hand-wheel operation to open the cylinder before the click-stop flowmeter can be used, while others use the flowmeter to open the cylinder, and HTM says it is important that staff are trained to understand the difference. WHO's specifications for medical oxygen cylinders (December 2024) list integral valves (VIPR) as an option, compliant with ISO 10524-3 and ISO 22435. See ISO 10524.
Sources
- ISO 10524-3:2019, Pressure regulators integrated with cylinder valves (VIPRs), abstract and status (iso.org, read in a browser)
- NHS England, HTM 02-01 Part B (2026), paragraphs 9.22, 9.28 and 9.29
- WHO, Technical specifications for health facility based medical oxygen systems (31 December 2024), medical oxygen cylinders table, lines 18 and 50
Ultra Controlo figures come from its technical datasheets. Third-party facts were read at the source on the date shown.