Electrocardiogram

In the next couple of weeks I should have finalised a tour of a cardio-respiratory department.

When discussing the nature of the study, the subject of an ECG recording was brought up.  And althought this is off topic, it is interesting to investigate a wide view of problems.  An Electro cardiogram is a test that measures the hearts electrical activity.

The issue that arose during the discussion was that ecg cables often become tangled.  This means that hospital staff have to spend time detangling what has been described as a 'birds nest' of cabling, thus distracting them from the important job of monitoring readouts and attending the patient.

There does appear to have been some break throughs in this area, as evidenced by a company in the USA, their website has testimony from a number of staff.

http://www.ekgcable.com/testimonials/

Aside from preventing the cables from becoming tangled and damaged (they are expensive to replace), the equipment offered here helps interpret where each cable/electrode should be attached to the body.  This ability to read quickly where each electrode should be placed greatly improves the patients level of stress as they become more comfortable in the hands of the hospital staff.

The tour should prove interesting because if this product is a design or cost issue for hospitals then there could be room for an improved cost effective design.

First hand experience of this department will also prove useful in experiencing the environment for both the patient and the staff members.  To see the route the patient/staff member takes from the entrance of the building to the waiting room, toilets, consultation, operating room etc will prove invaluable in this current study of de-threatening, de-intimidating of hospital equipment and situations.

It should also be interesting to hopefully gain an insight into how a hospital appropriates and breaks down its budget, regarding equipment, patient comfort and many other factors.

Expect and update on the cardio-repiratory department in the coming weeks and more literature on the subject shortly.