In inhalation anesthesia life-support systems are used to provide gases to the patient and to monitor important parameters. These systems are used in dynamic and stressful situations where the information-load on the operators often is significant. This thesis presents a design concept of an anesthetic system. The design goal has been to keep the information-load on the operator low with the objective to minimize confusion and error.A number of contextual inquiries were made in the operating room during surgery at four hospitals in Sweden. The goal was to understand the actual use-situations when anesthetic systems are employed.