Medical instrumentation
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Physicians and nurses frequently assume that a better level of patient care exists when instrumentation is involved. This is true only when the equipment applicable to the problem is knowledgeably selected, properly maintained, and used in a suitable setting by personnel who understand the product and know how to respond when the unexpected occurs. If any of thes components are missing, it may well jeopardize a patient's well-being. Only by the adoption of explicit policies, properly enforced, can these omissions be controlled and thus assure the medical staff that the use of instrumentation will indeed benefit patient care.
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An implanted brain stimulation system can be used for control of chronic intractable pain that is unresponsive to other forms of treatment. A trial period of temporary stimulation first determines whether a patient is likely to benefit from a permanent implant. Success has been achieved in the majority of patients, although technical problems have necessitated repairs.
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Medical instrumentation · Nov 1977
Case ReportsApplication of portable cardiopulmonary bypass to emergency instrumentation.
Although most emergency conditions may be reversed with standard treatment protocols, mechanical cardiopulmonary bypass may be utilized to resuscitate highly selective patients who are in extremis. The addition of a battery mode to drive the pump oxygenator allows for portability from one area of the hospital to another. With the extensive availability of pump teams for elective heart surgery, cardiopulmonary bypass is applicable to patients with emergency conditions.
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Medical instrumentation · Nov 1977
Comparative StudyThe clinical assessment of cardiovascular emergencies.
Data are given for a 2-year study of fire department ambulance runs in Houston, Texas. Comparisons are made between those runs in which telemetry was used and those in which telemetry was not used. ⋯ Criteria used for clinical assessment and classification of emergencies are discussed. Emergency life-support systems with telemetry can have significant benefit for certain selected acute, recognizable cardiovascular emergencies, but the majority of ischemic heart disease fatalities do not appear to be deriving benefit from these systems.