A computer-assisted preventive maintenance system

With the growing number of hospitals developing in-house preventive maintenance capabilities, and the increasing number of pieces of equipment and instruments needing preventive maintenance, automatic data processing has emerged as a tool to aid the clinical engineer and hospital in planning preventive maintenance programs. Such a system is CAPMS, or Computer Assisted Preventive Maintenance System. Through the use of CAPMS, the department in charge of Preventive Maintenance can keep accurate records of PM history, safety testing, and year-to-year maintenance costs. Some of the special features of CAPMS include: information of availability of equipment for servicing, priorities, and a text file that can be used to print out the procedure form for use during the PM. These additional features make CAPMS a useful tool to the clinical engineer.     

A risk-related preventive maintenance system

Recent changes in attitudes concerning medical equipment maintenance place more responsibility for planning appropriate levels of maintenance on the clinical engineer and biomedical equipment technician. A system is described in which maintenance decisions are based on the effects of equipment failure on quality of patient care and potential for injury to patients and staff. It is hoped that development of an acceptable classification scheme will simplify maintenance decisions. Such a system will provide levels of maintenance appropriate to the equipment function in patient care.     

A microcomputer-based preventive maintenance system.

A medical equipment preventive maintenance system using a Radio Shack microcomputer is described. The system generates a schedule of equipment to be inspected each week. The software is written in BASIC for easy modification or transfer to other commercially available microcomputers. The system has been in use for nine months with good results.     

A computer-assisted biomonitoring test system

Editorial Board's Note. The biomonitoring rapid test system described in the present work is designed to test toxicity of liquid media. This problem is of significant environmental importance. The system consists of a biotest detector which monitors chemotaxis of infusoria and a computer to process experimental data and calculate the coefficient of toxicity. The device and measuring procedure are described in the present work quite comprehensively. Cell culture preparation is described briefly. Nevertheless, all the necessary steps are listed and labor requirements are specified.The sensor differs from commonly used photometric sensors because only living microorganisms generate signals. In contrast to the Coulter counter, which counts the particles pumped through a small orifice equipped with electrodes, the sensor used in the device described in the present work detects only living mobile microorganisms which cross a dark-light border when driven by natural taxis.     

Development of preventive maintenance procedures

A large number of in-house preventive maintenance (PM) programs, which call for varying degrees of thoroughness in the checkout of patient care instrumentation, are currently in existence throughout the country. This paper discusses the types of preventive maintenance, or PM procedures, which can be used by a clinical engineering department; the rationale for drafting different types of PM procedures in-house; and some long-term considerations affecting hospital-based inspection programs. Three types of PM procedures are described and compared: general checks; generic procedures; and, specific procedures. An outline is provided for writing a PM procedure; and, a call is made for a national guideline for writing preventive maintenance procedures.     

A computer-assisted bacteriology reporting and information system.

A computer system for reporting and recording all specimens processed by the routine bacteriology laboratory at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School is described. Features of interest are the method of input using a mixture of 3-character alphanumeric codes and numbers, cumulative reporting to the wards, and selective listing of relevant previous results for the patient, which is available to technical and supervisory staff during processing of the specimen. The relative value to the wards and the laboratory of each type of information transfer has been assessed. Overall the use of a computer has resulted in higher quality bench work and more accurate reporting. It seems little more expensive than a previous manual system, although it has transferred work from the technical to the clerical staff.     

Designing special test instruments for preventive maintenance

Periodic performance testing of biomedical equipment can be made considerably more efficient by careful design of test procedures and by fabrication of special test instruments which are designed for those procedures. The design philosophy behind such procedures and instruments and its applicability to a wide variety of biomedical devices is discussed. As a practical example, an ECG machine/patient monitor test system is described and construction details are given.     

Technical note: preventive maintenance quality assurance

Performance improvements in healthcare and, specifically, in clinical engineering are required by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations' Plant Technology and Safety Management (PTSM) documents. The goals of healthcare service quality assurance are to establish performance requirements and improve patient outcomes. It is important that these goals be kept in the forefront of the design of clinical engineering quality assurance planning. Indicator/threshold pairs must be carefully chosen on the basis of some logical relation to the desired goals of the overall program.     

An automated electrical safety and preventive maintenance program

The Miami Heart Institute's Electrical Safety and Preventive Maintenance Program has been designed as a stand-alone component of a large-scale, computer-based hospital information system. It ensures regularly scheduled routine inspections, preventive maintenance and, where applicable, calibration of the institution's diagnostic, therapeutic and other electrical equipment used in patient care. The program also schedules and documents inspection of buildings, service equipment and grounding systems. The software consists of a single program which permits on-line entry, editing and display of information as well as automatic, unattended generation of printed forms. This program has been in continuous use since May, 1974.     

A computerized hospital maintenance system.

The Biomedical Instrumentation Department at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital maintains most of the clinical equipment owned by the hospital and provides support to six other hospitals, as well. In order to document these services, a computerized support system has been developed. This system maintains the inventory of equipment, documents the occurrence of repair and preventive maintenance procedures, generates lists of items due for maintenance and inspection, and prints reports and summaries of all activities performed by department staff. The system was designed for ease of use and requires a minimum of training for personnel who use it.     

An automated computer-assisted ultrasonic diagnostic system

All-Russian Scientific-Research Institute for Medical Instrument Engineering. Diagnostic Medical Systems Joint-Stock Company, Moscow. Translated from Meditsinskaya Tekhnika, No. 5, pp. 43–44, September–October, 1994.     

A simple, computer-assisted system for measuring latencies of contact placing

A system for measuring the latencies of two components of contact placing, limb withdrawal and landing, is described. Timing functions are performed by a microcomputer, which also records and displays the latencies, and summarizes the data. Procedures for testing contact placing are also described, and data collected from morphine-treated, Long-Evans hooded rats are presented.     

生化分析仪预防性维护计划的建立与实施

目的探讨如何提高生化分析仪预防性维护水平,保障科室设备在质量安全的前提下平稳运行。方法首先通过分享几例医院生化分析仪故障及日常故障维护记录,探讨生化分析仪的预防性维护,从而建立生化分析仪预防性维护记录表。然后,通过相关案例,讨论生化分析仪预防性维护计划的可行性。结果此计划能有效增加设备运行时间,节约科室开支等。结论提高检验科生化分析仪预防性维护水平确有必要,并需要不断加强相关知识的学习。     

A computer system for biomedical equipment maintenance reporting

Biomedical equipment maintenance and repair activities involve an increasing amount of paperwork and report generation. A computer system is described that collects the necessary data on-line for accuracy and efficiency. The system can generate various reports relating to repair history, spare parts usage and preventive maintenance scheduling. It is implemented on a time-sharing minicomputer, and can reduce substantially the time spent by biomedical engineers in documenting their activities.     

Clinical variability within Brachmann-de Lange syndrome: A proposed classification system

Seven patients, including two sibs, with the Brachmann-de Lange syndrome (BDLS) are presented as representative of the different types of BDLS in a proposed classification system. Type I (“classic”) patients have the characteristic facial and skeletal changes of BDLS using the criteria in the diagnostic index of Preus and Rex. Type I is distinguished from the other subtypes by prenatal growth deficiency (< 2.5 S.D. below mean for gestation) becoming more severe postnatally (< 3.5 S.D. below the mean), moderate to profound psychomotor retardation, and major malformations which result in severe disability or death. Type II (“mild”) BDLS patients have similar facial and minor skeletal abnormalities to those seen in type I; however, these changes may develop with time or may be partially expressed. Patients with type II BDLS are distinguished from those with other types by mild to borderline psychomotor retardation, less severe pre-and postnatal growth deficiency, and the absence of (or loss severe) major malformations. Behavioral problems can be a significant clinical problem in type II BDLS. Type III (“phenocopies”) BDLS includes patients who have phenotypic manifestations of BDLS which are causally related to chromosomal aneuploidies or teratogenic exposures. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.