Used Medical Equipment Discussion about reconditioned medical equipment

Finally, the Physio-Control LIFEPACK 15 monitor/defibrillator has received market approval in Canada. The official notification, granted by Health Canada, was issued on September 1, 2009. In addition, the company was granted the CE mark of approval in January 2009, signifying its compliance with EU standards for medical devices, just before it started marketing the LIFEPAK 15 in the U.S. earlier this year.

Building on Physio-Control’s 54 year heritage of providing the most innovative medical equipment for lifesaving, the LIFEPAK 15 offers an all-new platform of best-in-class functionality. It definitely raises the bar for industry standards of reliability and durability.

One of the most significant ways that the LIFEPAK 15 stays ahead of competitors is by being the first monitor / defibrillator to introduce Masimo Rainbow SET® Pulse CO- Oximetry™ for the detection of carbon monoxide in the blood and methemoglobin in the blood (a result of exposure to certain drugs and chemicals).

The new design is focused upon several innovative functions, including the biggest color screen available, and a single button that changes the screen to a high-contrast mode for better viewing in bright sunlight. In addition, the LIFEPAK 15 offers ten times the processing speed as its predecessor and triples its battery life. Because the monitor/defibrillators are often used in harsh environments, they are built tougher than any other model on the market.

Now that the LIFEPAK 15 is available in Canada, many hospitals are expected to transition their existing medical equipment as budgets permit. Its durability, reliability, functionality and ease-of-use make the LIFEPAK 15 an excellent way for health care institutions to reduce their operational expenses while minimizing training costs.

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According a recent study by the International Journal of Engineering Systems Modeling and Simulation, a new kind of fetal heart monitor is available for monitoring the heart-rate of unborn infants in high risk pregnancies.

Using some of the same technology used to listen to music, this Mp3 based device uses a dual-microphone system to monitor the fetal heart rate while the mother sleeps, and sends alerts to both the woman and her doctor.

When complicated pregnancies result in preterm labor, miscarriage or the death of a fetus, the problems leading up to this are usually evident for a number of days. With regular ultrasound monitoring, physicians can spot most problems, but it isn’t advisable to undergo ultrasound monitoring too frequently. Plus, ultrasound machines cannot detect the fetal heart rate.

Researchers have found that the fetal heart rate can drop suddenly and last for up to a minute, long before an underlying problem is found in other symptoms. In many cases, this occurs just before the pregnant woman falls asleep. The reason it happens then is because this is when the woman’s heart rate drops, which results in lower blood pressure to the fetus.

Mp3 fetal heart monitors can provide urgent medical assistance when this becomes a danger to the health of the fetus, and is expected to be highly effective in preventing prenatal problems, including stillbirth.

The device itself is based on two acoustic sensors that feed the fetal heart rate data into a wave analyzer, which is connected to a bedside computer with an internet connection. A “wav” file is created that can then be analyzed for medical abnormalities and compressed into an mp3 format for a quick upload to the physician’s computer. Any medical anomalies will trigger a warning to seek medical assistance.

This new monitoring technique is relatively inexpensive and safe, since no energy penetrates the womb at any time during the monitoring process with fetal heart monitors.

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For nearly a decade, health care equipment manufacturers have been promising a new wave of wireless monitors and therapeutic devices, but these evolving technologies are not coming as quickly as expected. Adoption of wireless medical equipment has been slowed by concerns over quality of care and patient privacy. In addition, the cost of this transition has hampered health care facilities’ ability to take advantage of wireless technology, so manufacturers have been slow to create them.

The need for a more holistic approach to wireless health care is obvious, due to the broad spectrum of medical devices that are found in most emergency room settings. This mission-critical medical equipment must be implemented across the board, since most surgical environments make the selection of a single wireless device impractical.

Given the interactivity of these hi-tech settings, medical equipment manufacturers need to assure hospitals that their solutions will work in conjunction with other devices in a health care setting. The need for interoperability continues to be a key factor influencing the integration of wireless monitors.

Once a few leading facilities make the transition to wireless, they will serve as models for larger metropolitan hospitals, which will help wireless monitors grow in favor-ability, but their widespread acceptance will depend on the success of early adopters.

Once wireless patient monitors are fully integrated into most health care environments, facilities may realize a cost savings. This is because the ease and portability of wireless units may keep hospitals from needing to purchase several devices for one treatment area, as they do now.

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