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Published: 19 September 2013

A 360 degree virtual booth and an ideas centre where customers can leave feedback and suggestions for product development are just two of several new features of Rigel Medical's dedicated website www.rigelmedical.com

The newly rebranded website has been developed to provide the latest information about Rigel?s range of advanced medical equipment testers, analysers and simulators at the touch of a button. 

The comprehensive new site features enhanced navigation tools and a host of user friendly features such as the virtual booth which allows site visitors to interact with products to see the latest user benefits. 

Other new features include a Med-eKit generator that enables customers to custom build their own kit on-line, and the ability to register for new product and company information.

Also included is a special resources section offering free downloads of data sheets? application notes and other useful test guides.

Visitors to the site can also view and book places on training courses? find out about special events? exhibitions and seminars.

Customers also have the opportunity to use the special ?my account? section of the site to register products and sign up to receive regular news alerts.

Rigel Medical  is part of the Seaward Group based at Bracken Hill, South West Industrial Estate, Peterlee, Co Durham SR8 2SW.

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , call +44 191 5878730 or visit www.rigelmedical.com for more information.

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Published: 19 September 2013

SUMMARY OF MEDICAL ENGINEERING IN AFRICA FORUM: REQUEST FOR VOLUNTEERS

The Forum was held in the excellent Calcot Manor Hotel Conference Centre courtesy of Richard Ball, Managing Director.
Thirty engineers, doctors and representatives from a couple of charities attended. The five speakers gave an insightful and varied view of problems they encountered whilst working in Africa, both from an engineer's and medical practitioner's perspective.

As the day progressed, there was plenty of opportunity for the attendees to discuss the issues raised; most of the assembled having had extensive experience of working on various projects in Africa.

A general theme emerged with a number of issues being highlighted by speakers and attendees; these can be categorised as follows:

1. Donations The shortage of equipment was generally not the problem; large quantities of equipment have been donated to African hospitals, however:

• It is often the wrong sort of equipment and is not suitable for the environment or skill levels of users, incorrect voltage etc.
• Equipment over-complicated and lacking spares
• Too many different types of equipment with no continuity
• No manuals / no spare parts

This was discussed at some length and WHO Guidelines for donations were mentioned http://www.who.int/hac/techguidance/pht/en/1_equipment%20donationbuletin82WHO.pdf

Hospitals are not in a position to refuse donations and find it very hard to ask for particular types of equipment. If they refuse a donation, the donor may perceive that they do not require help and will direct their activities elsewhere.

Two speakers highlighted this problem by showing photos of their store rooms packed with equipment which will never be used. One hospital had a large warehouse full of boxes of?. no-one knows what! As someone remarked, it was like the closing scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark when the Ark was boxed and hidden into a cavernous Government warehouse, presumably never to see the light of day again!

This raised another issue:
2. No Inventory Control or Planned Maintenance or Repair / Equipment Budget.

Most hospitals have no idea what equipment they have in stock, or its condition. Without inventory control there can be no collective plan for maintenance, provision of spares, training, manuals etc. Very few hospitals run computerised admin systems and purchasing involves a very torturous manual approach with many layers of control and management; which ultimately means that nothing gets purchased or, if it does, it arrives a year after the request. E.g. a tube for an anaesthetic machine - without which it won't work - could take months to replace; in which time the machine is unavailable for operators.

3. Quality of Tools - Quality of Cheap Imported Equipment.

Medical Engineer Dr. Keita (Ike) Ikeda also commented on the lack of decent tools to repair anything - citing that in Europe and America there are strict quality controls on all imports, but even then some of the imported Chinese tools are inferior. In Africa there are no controls on import at all, therefore Chinese manufacturers flood the markets with very inferior tools. Ike cited socket sets and spanners with 2mm variations and poor quality steel - this leads to bolt heads being stripped making repairs more difficult. Extension cables, plugs, power tools etc. are often very inferior and, at times, very dangerous.
Equipment sourced from emerging markets such as China and India is very often made out of cheap materials such as low grade plastics that fracture easily and are impossible to repair.

4. Lack of Money for Training Care.

Dr Lucy Obolensky gave a thought provoking lecture on her experiences with the Kenya Orthopaedic Project pointing out that the leading cause of death worldwide was trauma and not Aids, malaria or diarrhoea, although all of these receive more help from donor countries than provision of trauma care. Lucy found there was a considerable difference in the approach of the small local hospital she worked at, where they meticulously looked after their operating equipment, and the large Mombasa hospital where they did not bother fixing equipment.

5. Lack of Trained Staff and Medical Engineers

All speakers referred to the lack of trained engineers; there were several issues related to this that contributed to the problem.

1. No budget within large state-run hospitals to train staff and no perception of need - if it doesn't work just leave it.
2. Very few courses for engineers to take at local universities and a shortage of experienced medical engineers to teach students.
3. European trained engineers prefer to leave their country to work in the US or Europe for more money, better facilities etc.

Conclusion and Proposals

Although the problems in Africa are immense they are not insurmountable.

1. African Governments must get more involved in equipping their state hospitals. Huge donations are given by the EU to countries such as Uganda - but the money often does not find its way into point of service healthcare.

2. Donors should try to talk to the countries Ministry of Health and involve them in the decision making. Donations must be targeted and donors must liaise with hospitals to discuss what they actually need, maintain and use. Often, training on use and maintenance is more useful than actual donations.

3. Supporting  infrastructure is essential - reporting faults, equipment, inventories, effective sourcing of spares, training, making a small budget available for repairs etc.

4. Training - we discussed at some length the provision of training. Kyambogo University has asked the Amalthea Trust to support a training programme for medical engineers This has large benefits:

• Training locally will mean that more engineers will stay in the country - in particular as by sponsoring the course The Department of Health recognises the importance of providing posts for their own graduates.
• Initially, UK and US engineers will be required to provide practical training to the students. The Amlathea Trust is in negotiations with Kyambogo to support this over 3 years.
• If the Kyambogo University course is a success this could be replicated at other University / teaching hospitals across Africa.
• We discussed the provision of an NVQ type certification for the element of training provided by visiting technicians.

Database of Medical Engineers and Projects.

The Amalthea Trust would like to maintain a database of medical engineers willing to work in Africa, which could be used by doctors, charities etc. that require help. The database would also be useful for medical engineers travelling to a new country who need practical advice from people who know the environment and culture. Similar charities and hospitals can post requests for help for their particular projects. 

The Amalthea Trust will actively encourage engineers to participate and support engineers with funds towards air fare and living expenses.

If you would like more information please contact Mike Hilditch on 01666 822577 Ext 210 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Published: 19 September 2013

Mindray integrates Covidiens Nellcor BIS X4 technology and PULSION's PiCCO Plus and CeVOX technologies into their patient monitoring systems

Covidien's Nellcor BIS X4 technology allows physicians to monitor both hemispheres of the patient's brain simultaneously and in real time, providing highly sophisticated data that enables them to make optimal decisions for safer patient care.

BIS X4 technology on Mindray's BeneView multi-parameter patient monitors allows physicians to combine critical data on patients' brain activity with information on other vital signs before, during and after anaesthesia and surgery.

Covidien's BIS technology provides a direct, real-time measure of the effects of anaesthetics and sedatives on the brain. Optimally, anaesthetists try to deliver sufficient anaesthesia to maintain patient sedation and prevent surgery recall during medical procedures, but always with the goal of using as little anaesthetic as possible.

The critical improvement that BIS X4 offers is to allow clinicians to compare activity between hemispheres of the brain, identify imbalances, and intervene as needed to achieve best and safest patient outcomes. Studies indicate that BIS-monitored patients wake up faster, are extubated sooner and are better oriented upon arrival to the Recovery Unit.

PULSION's PiCCO-Technology offers comprehensive, low-risk monitoring of the cardiovascular function of critically ill patients in the intensive-care environment. PiCCO monitoring provides a wide-ranging set of information for clinicians to effectively perform goal-directed therapies to manage a patients' cardio-vascular and fluid volume status

PULSION's easy-to-use CeVOX-Technology offers a minimally invasive method for the continuous monitoring of the body's oxygen balance, making it possible to identify acute risks to the cardiovascular system in critically ill patients at an early stage

The BeneView Series of patient monitors supports a broad range of monitoring capabilities for patients at all acuity levels. With BeneView, clinical teams can access the precise data they need to provide optimal patient care - at the bedside and during transport. By incorporating BIS X4 and PiCCO into our BeneView Series of monitors, Mindray has demonstrated its commitment to provide clinicians with user-friendly, affordable access to the most advanced monitoring technologies

For more information contact Mindray (UK) Ltd Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tele: 01480 416840

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Published: 19 September 2013

We are pleased to introduce the new BeneHeart D3 and D6 range of Defibrillators from Mindray.

BeneHeart D3 and D6 are portable defibrillators offering, manual defibrillation, AED functionality, pacing and, of course, patient monitoring capability.

Their bright, high resolution displays present critical patient information clearly in all light conditions.

The rugged, compact D6 and D3 are exceptionally easy to use with all of the functionality demanded by clinicians.

They offer extensive data storage and data management capability enabling caregivers to review ECG waveforms and events as well as other monitored vital signs.

We are offering BeneHeart D6 and D3 Defibrillators at very attractive introductory prices; please contact us for further information.

Our goal is to make high quality, competitively priced medical devices available to healthcare providers.
We offer an expansive portfolio of products including patient monitoring systems and defibrillators. Mindray can provide monitoring solutions for all areas of anaesthesia from operating theatres through to systems for recovery rooms and intensive care units.
The Mindray range also includes high quality ultrasound systems, providing versatile diagnostic and procedural solutions for a variety of clinical applications.
Our policy of continuous, innovative product development means that we deliver the products that you need in today?s challenging healthcare environment.

For more information:
Telephone on: 01480 416840
Email at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.