Empowering the Biomedical/CE Professional
• Electrophysiology is the fastest growing of all the cardiovascular disciplines. • Electrophysiologists are cardiologists who have additional education and training in the diagnosis and treatment of abnormal heart rhythms. Close collaboration between electrophysiologists and other doctors who treat patients with heart disease is important. • Based on the Heart Rhythm Society Workforce Survey, 999 electrophysiologists (experts in heart rhythm disorders) were identified for the 1995 U.S. population of 263,434,000, a ratio of 1:263,690. • Of these 999, 795 are certified as having added special competency in electrophysiology by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Many have also passed the...
Q. BAXTER FLOW GARD 6201 IV PUMP I’ve never actually made repairs to this model of pump before. I am check- ing one out for a small non-profit clinic (free service). This particular pump is louder than the rest of his pumps. It makes a chattering/groaning sound when running, more so at some speeds around 100-200ml/hr. I opened the unit to look inside. I suspect that it is just the white fingers of the peristaltic pump mechanism. Do those things need some silicone type cream lube inserted be- tween the fingers to sort of dampen the sound? How have you...
By Robert King The association for the advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) has launched a blog at www.aamiblog.org for experts and professionals to discuss and debate the hottest health care technology issues of the day. “I always learn something from listening to other people’s insights and occasionally have a few of my own to share, so I’m excited we are creating this new venue for starting — or continuing — conversations, sharing, and learning,” wrote AAMI President Mary Logan in a post welcoming readers. “If you have or need tips, lessons learned, illuminating case studies, questions, or insights about any...
By Robert King The association for the advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) has launched a blog at www.aamiblog.org for experts and professionals to discuss and debate the hottest health care technology issues of the day. “I always learn something from listening to other people’s insights and occasionally have a few of my own to share, so I’m excited we are creating this new venue for starting — or continuing — conversations, sharing, and learning,” wrote AAMI President Mary Logan in a post welcoming readers. “If you have or need tips, lessons learned, illuminating case studies, questions, or insights about any...
Using calibrators to detect radiation levels
Radiopharmaceutical calibrators are specialized radiation detection devices that measure the activity of radioisotopes before they are administered to patients during nuclear medicine studies. They are also used in radiopharmacy procedures and to prepare radiopharmaceutical compounds at specific concentrations. Proper use of a calibrator can ensure that a patient receives the lowest level of radiation necessary to acquire diagnostically useful information. The major components of a typical radiopharmaceutical calibrator include a power supply, a detector (usually an ionization chamber), a current-to-voltage amplifier, a voltage-gain amplifier, an electrometer, and a display (see Figure 1). HOW THEY WORK Radiopharmaceutical calibrators use a well-type...
The extech instruments universal ac power source + Ac Power Analyzer has front (100 W) and rear (2,000 W) universal output sockets for high-resolution power testing to 10mW. The tool features low power, high-resolution front panel output, with variable voltage and frequency. The high power rear panel output supplies line frequency and voltage, while the low power measurement (10 mW to 100 W) is for testing power consumption of small devices or standby power at different voltages and frequencies. The high power measurement with harmonics measurements is available from 100mW to 1000W at 110V, or from 100mW to 2000W at...
Report: Biomeds Must Come Out of the Shadows
By Robert King To really improve the profession, healthcare technology managers need to leave the basement… literally. Biomedical equipment technicians and clinical engineers have to increase collaboration with other departments and visibility in the boardroom to show their true value to executives and administrators, according to a new report, Positioning Healthcare Technology Management for the Future, commissioned by AAMI’s Technology Management Council (TMC). “The old stereotype is that we are the guys down in the basement at a workbench fixing machines,” says Matt Baretich, president of Baretich Engineering Inc. in Fort Collins, Colo., and a co-author of the report....
How does a pacemaker work?
Healthy adults have normal resting heart rates of 60 to 100 beats per minute, and any change to that rate — everything from beating too fast, too slow or even irregularly — may indicate a medical problem. When it’s an ongoing problem it could mean faulty electrical signaling within the heart. We’re all born with a pacemaker. It’s called the sinoatrial node (SA node), a small area at the top of the right atrium (upper chamber) of the heart. The SA node automatically generates an electrical signal that causes the upper chambers of the heart to contract. This signal begins...
connecting vital signs monitors to the electronic medical record
As the government’s meaningful use incentives are driving hospitals to rapidly adopt Electronic Medical Records, an increasing number of hospitals are also looking towards connecting their medical devices to the EMR for the purposes of automated documentation. Connecting vital signs monitoring systems to the EMR can increase the accuracy and efficiency of getting vitals data into a patient’s record. But this has made the systems more complex—not only to install and use, but also to shop for. In a recent Health Devices Evaluation (September 2011), ECRI Institute reviewed, tested, and rated several vital signs monitors, focusing on their ability to...
Conversations from the TechNation Community
Q: Vendor compliance Assuming you have a policy that loaner/demo medical devices must come through biomed/CE (or whatever you are called) before being used in the hospital, what do you do if you find or catch a vendor doing otherwise? And what about repeat violators? Some obvious options that could be used in combination are: admonish the rep and leave it at that, go above the rep, report internally or remind the clinical department about the policy. A: I would make a (quarterly) PI goal to count all equipment [that has been] electrically safety tested and not safety tested and...
