An anesthesia cart is a mobile workstation as much as a storage cart: a wide range of small supplies that has to stay organized and move between rooms between cases. This page covers drawer/bin layout, mobility accessories, lock hardware and restocking. Labs USA is a supplier and project partner, not the manufacturer. We supply Pegasus Medical cart platforms, help configure them for the OR or block room, and coordinate delivery and installation. Clinical setup, case checks and drug security procedures belong to your anesthesia and biomedical teams; we do not advise on them and nothing here should be read as clinical or compliance guidance.

Pegasus Poly anesthesia cart with blue tilt-out bin trays
40compartments the Ecoline layout divides into across 5 or 10 drawers
2Pegasus lines with a published anesthesia configuration
20+side, top and integrated accessories published across the cart programme
Freeconfiguration and layout support

Workstation layout: 5-drawer vs. 10-drawer, and tilt-bin trays

An anesthesia cart is a workstation first and a cart second – it has to hold a wide range of small supplies while staying organized under time pressure between cases.

On the Ecoline platform, Pegasus publishes anesthesia cart configurations in a 5-drawer or 10-drawer workstation layout, dividable into up to 40 compartments with drawer dividers. The Poly (all-polymer) platform publishes anesthesia as one of eight starting configurations on its cart body, built with tilt-out bin trays rather than flat drawers for some layouts – useful where staff need to see and grab small items without pulling a drawer fully open.

Which layout fits depends on how many discrete supply categories the anesthesia team keeps on the cart and how the OR or block room is arranged around it. We work out the drawer/bin count and division plan with you before quoting rather than defaulting to a single standard layout.

Mobility, IV pole and side-shelf accessories

Anesthesia carts move between rooms more than most cart types, so caster choice and accessory placement matter. Both Pegasus lines support an IV pole mount and a side shelf or work surface as configuration options, plus the wider Pegasus accessory set (more than 20 side, top, integrated and complementary accessories are published across the cart programme) – things like sharps container brackets, waste bag holders and monitor shelves get added at the configuration stage, not bolted on afterward.

Locking and restocking between cases

Because an anesthesia cart is typically restocked between every case rather than once a shift, the lock style needs to support fast, auditable re-opening – numbered breakaway lock bars are the common choice here, the same hardware family used on Pegasus crash carts, so a facility can standardize lock style across both cart types if that simplifies their restocking routine.

We size the restock routine the same way as any high-turn cart: either a central exchange model through central supply, or restocked in place near the OR suite, matched to a shelving layout that mirrors the drawer order.

Poly vs. Ecoline: which body fits an anesthesia workstation?

The Ecoline platform is the one with a named 5- or 10-drawer anesthesia workstation layout dividable to 40 compartments, which makes it the starting point when the anesthesia team already knows roughly how many supply categories they need separated. The Poly (all-polymer) platform lists anesthesia among its eight published starting configurations and uses tilt-out bin trays on some layouts instead of flat pull drawers, which some teams prefer for items they need to see and grab without pulling a drawer fully open in a tight OR footprint.

Both platforms take the same accessory family – IV pole mounts, side shelves, sharps and waste-bag brackets – so the choice between them is mostly about drawer style and cleanability, not what can be mounted on the cart.

Resources

Get an anesthesia cart configuration and quote FAQ

5-drawer or 10-drawer – which anesthesia layout do we need?
That depends on how many discrete supply categories the anesthesia team keeps on the cart. The published Ecoline layout divides up to 40 compartments across 5 or 10 drawers; more drawers means finer separation but a larger footprint. We work out the compartment count from your supply list before quoting.
Can the cart take an IV pole and a side work shelf?
Yes, both are published configuration options on the Pegasus lines we supply, along with more than 20 other side, top and integrated accessories across the cart programme.
What lock should an anesthesia cart use if it is restocked between every case?
Numbered breakaway lock bars are the common choice because they show at a glance whether the cart has been opened since the last restock and need no key, which keeps the process fast between cases.
Are these carts certified for anesthesia or OR use?
We make no standard, code or certification claims about any cart we supply. We provide the manufacturer’s published product information and configure it to the criteria your clinical and biomedical teams give us; case-readiness checks remain your facility’s responsibility.

Get an anesthesia cart configuration and quote

Send your supply list, drawer/compartment count and accessory needs (IV pole, side shelf, sharps mounts). You get a configuration built from the manufacturer’s published specifications, freight and lead time, and layout support at no charge.