EBME Forums Forums Maintenance Technical Assistance Aeonmed VG70 ventilator Oxygen cells

HI all

I'm sure that some of you out there will have the unfortunate experience of having been 'given' some VG70 ventilators by NHSE. Have you therefore also experienced the issues with the Oxygen cells?
We have had several ventilators where the cells have simply died or dont calibrate.
It appears that the response time of the cells that are installed is quite slow, to the extent that the ventilator starts alarming saying that the Oxygen concentration is not correct. This in turn worries the nurses who think that the Oxygen supply itself has an issue. I'm sure for some of you this could also be a problem.
Replacing the cells seems to make a bit of difference, but the response is still quite slow.

Any comments or suggestions?

Thanks

Richard

Hi Brompton
I too have had difficulties with these devices. Half of a delivery failed and the response from the supplier is somewhat lax considering the importance of these devices. The cells have been installed long ago hence why they need changing, but be aware that there are two different types of connector for the cells on this device should you receive anymore. I know that some trusts have used Viamed R-22 MED cells and this improved the readings a little. DD Scientific in Portsmouth also understand this problem and can help you if you call them directly. I would suggest that any users be aware that when i tested these devices at 60% O2, the test equipment was reading very much lower readings and i trust my analyser more than the VG70. The technical material is via various you tube clips and multiple links and not to the quality i would expect during a global pandemic. There is a lot to be said for our more established manufacturers of ventilator in terms of support and technical quality and resources.

Same issues at Epsom & St Helier - Oxygen cell failure rate over 40% on delivery, not surprising since we have been informed that a lot of these units have spent 18 months or so in storage.

We have found three different types of cell and two different types of connector. Initially Ortus (UK representative) suggested we could obtain replacement cells from Viamed who supply themselves - my EME Manager was having none of this and ensured Ortus supplied the failed components free of charge directly (good man - hes learning!)

I can understand the concerns raised by clinicians, especially in situations where oxygen supply capacity is an issue

The build quality of these units worries me, my technicians can not see them lasting anywhere near as long as our existing stock but to be honest they are doing the job and we have very little choice.

It seems that Aeonmed don't like to make too many promises ... the manual mentions a response time (for the O2 sensor) of < 60 s.

Naturally, they also mention "the recommended oxygen sensor is produced by our company".

Meanwhile, the Viamed R-22MED (for example) boasts of < 6 s.

But on the plus side, it's nice that Ortus provide .pdf documentation directly from their website.

Hi All,
We have three different types of cell and three different connections (jack plug, molex & RJ22).
With regard to the response time, this is being clearly sampled over a long period within the software of the machine to give a nice steady display. I put our analyser in circuit and saw deviations of 10% during each breath so in the interest of science I disconnected the cell in the machine and connected our analyser directly to the OE cell in-situ. The O2 measurement still wandered around almost instantly (so the cell itself isn't too sluggish), but I only saw a deviation of around +/- 2%.