Used Medical Equipment Discussion about reconditioned medical equipment

Patients who rely on nighttime blood pressure monitoring may be losing sleep, according to the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. The main concern expressed in this study is how sleep disturbances may ultimately affect the test results.

According to Dr. Rajiv Agarwal of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Indianapolis, blood pressure monitor measurements taken during sleep are a better way to predict heart disease than tests administered in doctors’ offices. But Dr. Agarwal’s concern is that sleep disturbances may make it more difficult to assess the relationship between sleeping blood pressure tests and certain cardiac events.

After analyzing the results of 24 hour BP monitoring in over 100 patients with kidney disease, Dr. Agarwal noted certain variations in test results between those taken during the day and those taken at night. Cardiologists know that blood pressure usually dips during the night, and when that doesn’t happen, a patient is considered to be at much higher risk for cardiovascular events.

In most cases, patients were monitored during the night using an “Actiwatch device” strapped to their wrists. However, because the blood pressure monitors themselves were disturbing sleep patterns in many patients and causing increased activity during the night, the customary “dip” that would normally occur wasn’t happening. In fact, when patients were using the blood pressure monitor at night, they spent about 90 minutes less time in bed and slept less, causing them to sleep less soundly.
As a result, Dr. Agarwal suggests that sleep quality be a factor in deciding whether “sleeping BP” results are an accurate assessment of overall cardiac health.

Scientists and medical equipment developers are beginning to develop a microscopic prototype of a neural transmitter that will be highly effective in alleviating chronic pain through electrical stimulation. The secret behind this technology? Radio frequency identification.

When most people think of RFID technology, they don’t think about medical equipment. That’s because radio-frequency technology is generally used to keep track of products, people and animals through the use of radio frequency waves. But thanks to the innovations of researchers at a Dallas-based company called MicroTransponder, a newly developed inject-able implant using RFID technology can be used to control chronic pain.

Using the well-known technology of RFID in the form of small electrodes, MicroTransponder has created a new device that will soon become an asset to physicians and medical equipment manufacturers. Instead of the larger traditional neural simulators used to treat chronic pain, scientists have found a way to inject small electrodes close to the spinal cord that is powered by a remote PDA controller located on the surface of the skin. Through a series of electrical jolts, the new neural transmitter will send signals to the spinal cord that will essentially block neural pain signals from going to the brain.

This new wireless device is a breakthrough for neurologists, who have traditionally relied on transmitters that were powered by a set of leads within close proximity to the spinal cord. In contrast, this novel approach to medical equipment is tailored to each individual patient and monitored by a PDA or laptop. Additionally, the new device is powered by a battery operated coil that can be discretely worn on the patient’s arm or leg.

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