EBME Forums Forums Management Medical Equipment Management calibration of defibrillator

hi guys!!!! good day can someone help me in making a procedure in calibration a defibrillator, tnx tnx,,

Calibration? Or testing?

What test equipment do you have?

And ... which defibrillator(s) (manufacturer, model)?

calibration procedures for defibrillator, actually we have several brands of defibrillator here in my hospital, is there a general procedure for all brands or model?? tnx tnx tnx

Rocketeer
Is there a language problem here?
Calibration is the adjustment of something to make it read or deliver correctly.
Each manufacturer and model is physically different so they will have a different way of adjusting the output, so there cannot be a generic general procedure.
I think you are thinking about testing the output to see if it is delivering correctly, then yes you can have a generic test.
This can be picking a few energy levels and firing the defib in to a tester to check it is delivering what it is set to plus or minus a tolerance. Plus function checking of any monitoring such as ECG.
Robert

In a hospital setting it is best to test defibs one at a time (one a day, for instance) ... else if you're not careful you (or rather, the patients) may be left vulnerable whilst they (the defibs) recover from their ordeal!

Ordeal? Yes. Bearing in mind that crash-cart defibs are generally regularly checked by user staff anyway, I always reckoned that biomeds need to test defibs under "realistic" (worst case) conditions:-

1) Unplug from the mains
2) Crank 'em up to max Joules
3) Carry out ten consecutive charges and discharges (into a tester) at max output
4) Note first and last output readings
5) Do a couple more discharges at different (lower) settings
6) Check that those (lower) outputs are within limits

If they pass that test (and they should), then they are good defibs! Otherwise, they are "false insurance". This is life-saving kit; but it's not much use if they whimper out after a couple of goes when someone has collapsed out in the car-park.

If they fail the test, the problem is (of course) most likely to be a useless battery (and yes, I have come across a few in my time - once there was a defib that couldn't even manage the first charge to max - and that was "in use" at a North London hospital).

Then plug the thing back into the mains to re-charge the batteries. And leave it plugged in!

"Belts and braces", perhaps - but I always preferred to test defibs back at the workshop; for three reasons:-

1) To make sure the batteries were (good and) completely re-charged before taking it back
2) So as not to alarm the patients and staff!
3) When "out on the ward(s)" defibs always need to be ready for immediate use

Have you got any test equipment ... a defib tester, for instance?

hey tnx guys, right now i dont have a defib analyzer but we are planning to buy one, we are planning to buy analyzers for different equipment so we could do an in-house calibration coz most of calibration are done by outsource company

tnx rojo, together with the analyzers we are planning to buy i must prepare a procedure manuals for each equipment i will calibrate, the auditors is also searching for that aside from PM an calibration plan so that's why i am also asking for the procedure...

OK. You are building up an I/PM (Inspection and Preventive Maintenance) Procedures Manual.

Proper PM should include calibration if and when necessary (it should also include electrical safety testing).

There have been collections of "procedures" available on the internet from various sources (mainly biomed groups in the U.S.). I have looked at some in the past, and a few were OK. So you could try looking on line (remembering, of course, that "Google is your friend"). But I believe it is far better to develop you own procedures in-house, in order that they reflect your particular circumstances and requirements.

But you need to take things slowly (one equipment type at a time). You can write up your procedure (and subsequently improve upon it) each time you visit the equipment for PM. Eventually you will get through them all.

You also need the (technical service) manuals. Does the outsource company have these?

How supportive is the senior management at your hospital ... or, has all this just been dumped on you (for whatever reason:- the present situation costing them too much, for example)?

Have you taken your inventory yet? That is, do you know what equipment you shall be maintaining?

If all else fails, just come on here for a new procedure every day! But it would be far easier (for us) if you presented your own (draft) procedure, in each case, for us to comment on!

You keep using the word "calibration". Is this a term that the "auditors" are using ... and is it the only word they are using?

Who are these people ... and what confidence is there that they understand the engineering support and maintenance ("technical support") of in-service medical equipment?

And ... are these auditors happy with the status quo ... the performance of the "outsource contractor"?

If they are not, and that's the reason your hospital is reforming its approach to tech support, then surely they should be able to "cut you a bit of slack" (that is, not only afford you a long enough period to get up to speed, but also offer a few clues about how to proceed).

In short, we can only offer advice on here if we have a reasonable idea of what it is you are trying to do, together with a few clues as to what your problems actually are.