Patient Monitors

DRE introduces the DRE Envoy PDM, a new, "all-in-one" central station telemetry monitor that features an intuitive patient data management system and an easy-to-use touchscreen.

The DRE Envoy PDM (Patient Data Management) Wireless Telemetry System allows physicians to wirelessly monitor vital signs of as many as six patients in their medical facility from a central location. A wireless transmitter sends vital sign data from bedside monitors to the Envoy PDM in real time.

Unlike traditional telemetry systems, which typically resemble desktop PCs, all central station components of the Envoy PDM are housed in an all-inclusive device that is similar to the size and appearance of a 15-inch computer monitor. The Envoy PDM also features an easy-to-use touchscreen that eliminates the need for a keyboard and further decreases the size of its footprint.

The Envoy PDM seamlessly integrates with the DRE Waveline Plus, a seven-parameter patient monitor. Vital signs from up to six DRE Waveline Plus monitors can be tracked and stored on the Envoy PDM in real time. Vital sign data is sent to the Envoy PDM via a wireless transmitter that attaches to the back of the Waveline Plus. The transmitter allows surgeons to transport the Waveline Plus from pre-operation to surgery and through recovery while maintaining the wireless link between the monitor and the Envoy PDM.

The Envoy PDM is DRE's latest entry in the medical telemetry market. In addition to the Envoy PDM, DRE has also supplied the DRE Envoy TS vital signs telemetry system to ambulatory surgery centers, outpatient surgery centers and oral surgery centers.

The Envoy TS seamlessly integrates with the DRE Spectra AG5 anesthesia gas monitor. Any combination of up to sixteen ECG transmitters and Spectra AG5 monitors can be linked to the Envoy TS central station.

Both the Envoy PDM and the Envoy TS are available now from DRE. Each telemetry system features automatic charting; full disclosure; manual recording (ECG analysis); trends, charts and strips for arrhythmia; detection of ECG data; and color waveforms.

US-based Ugbaio Itsekiri Incorporated has donated medical equipment to Central Hospital, Warri. The donated equipment has an estimated value of over N120 million.

The hospital equipment donated included anesthesia ventilators, pulse oximeters, NIBP monitors, laryngoscopes and patient vital signs monitors, as well as other medical equipment needed to address the growing needs at this facility.

The medical equipment was presented to the State Commissioner for Health and management of the hospital on behalf of the organization by Prof. Oritsegbemi Omatete, a patron of the organization. Prof. Omatete commended the management of Central Hospital, Warri for their dedication to their duties in the face of inadequate medical facilities.

According to Prof. Omatete, who is based in the USA, the donation of this medical equipment resulted from witnessing the experience of suffering mothers at the UCH, who were seen collecting water and taking it to the second floor of the hospital some time ago. This donation serves as the organization’s contribution to the healthcare system of the Delta State Government. He also stated that this medical equipment would go a long way towards assisting the hospital with providing a higher quality of care for its patients.

A research study published in a recent issue of The New England Journal of Medicine reports that Americans stand a better chance of surviving a heart attack if they have it in a public place, such as a casino or an airport, rather than a hospital.

According to the researchers, if a person has a heart attack at a public place where there are automated external defibrillators (AEDs) readily available, the survival rate is 50 percent. The rate of patients surviving a heart attack in a hospital and eventually being discharged was only 34 percent.

The researchers reported that thousands of lives might be saved every year if hospital equipment were upgraded to include automated external defibrillators in all patient rooms, rather than only in those rooms where heart disease patients are treated.

In nearly a third of all cases of sudden cardiac arrest at a large sample of American hospitals, the staff took two minutes or more to respond, researchers said. The time needed to set up the more sophisticated and powerful defibrillators used in hospitals — as well as to verify whether the problem will respond to the shocks — contributes to the delay, the researchers said. Response times of more than two minutes double the risk of brain damage and death compared to responses within a two-minute window.

Dr. Leslie A. Saxson, chief of cardiology at the University of Southern California, said the research shows automatic external defibrillators should be standard equipment in every hospital room. Similarly, cardiac monitors should be considered for more patients being treated for other conditions, even when those patients have no history of coronary problems, Saxson said. AEDs are low-cost medical equipment, and the benefits far out-weigh the minimal cost.