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Biomedical subjects

J W McIntyre

Publications and source records attributed to J W McIntyre.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Audible alarm signals for anaesthesia monitoring equipment.

To address the problem of auditory alarms on anaesthesia monitoring and delivery devices whose signal is masked by the noises of other operating room equipment, a set of signals having the characteristics of spectral richness, frequency modulation, and temporal patterning were electronically generated, and were tested for detectability against operating room equipment noises in a laboratory setting. A set of signals was identified which can, under these circumstances, be detected with at least 93% accuracy at -24 dB signal-to-noise ratio.

Anesthesiology↗
PubMed1982

Man-machine interface: the position of the anaesthetic machine in the operating room.

The question posed for this study was: "While holding a watching brief during an uneventful intra-abdominal surgical procedure do anaesthetics adopt the same position in the operating room with reference to the patient's head and "anaesthetic machine" and, if they do, what is it?" A study of the relative positions of the patient, the anaesthetist, and the "anaesthetic machine" during routine laparotomy showed great variation. The implication was that there was also great variation in the amount of movement necessary by the anaesthetist if the same amount of information was to be obtained with the same frequency. The significance of this with reference to the quality of patient care is discussed. The role of changes in apparatus and the declared need for this by anaesthetics is mentioned and recommendations regarding the visual acquisition of data during anaesthesia are made.

Anesthesia↗
PubMed1982

A formal audit as continuing medical education: anaesthesia for neurosurgery.

A brief description of the change from a normative evaluation to a formal audit of anaesthesia for neurosurgery is described. The criteria to be applied and their significance for clinical practise are listed. It is emphasized that these items are not presented as criteria for the standard of anaesthesia practised but as matters deserving debate among anaesthetists participating in a formal audit, particularly where the case load does not permit statistical analysis of patient outcome and only discussion of individual patients or small groups is possible. It is suggested, as it has been by others, that formal audit in a department of anaesthesia can be developed as the form of continuing medical education most closely related to the clinical work of the anaesthetists working within it.

Anesthesiology↗
PubMed1981

A simple vaporizer improvised from a carbon dioxide absorber canister.

An empty British Oxygen Company (B.O.C.) Mk. 4 carbon dioxide absorption cannister was modified for use as a vaporizer by placing a layer of flannelette bandage over the horizontal perforated septum and adding a base plate with an exit port for anaesthetic vapour. Aliquots of liquid anaesthetic were injected from a syringe through the top of the cannister and vaporised by air drawn through the cannister. Laboratory testing showed that this could be a useful way of administering inhalational anaesthesia in the absence of compressed gas supply.

Absorption↗
PubMed1980

Computer-aided instruction as a part of an undergraduate programme in anaesthesia.

Medical students should learn certain facts and comprehension of these facts during an elective month spent in a Department of Anaesthesia. This enables them to make the most of the tutorial situation in which they work with clinical anaesthetists. Pre- and post-elective multiple choice questions were used to test the efficacy of computer based non-linear programmes of multiple choice questions and explanations in adding to the students' knowledge. They were associated with an improvement in student performance and were acceptable to students and instructors. However, computer based instruction should only be used to improve certain learning situations and should not be employed as an alternative to interaction with physicians and patients.

Alberta↗
PubMed1979

Anesthesia equipment malfunction: origins and clinical recognition.

Equipment malfunction is a problem of particular importance during anesthesia and resuscitation. A review of published reports shows that the most common clinical events involve endotracheal tubes, the inspired oxygen concentration, the volume of inspired anesthetic vapours and gases, and pressures in the breathing or ventilation system. It is concluded that protection of a patient from equipment malfunction depends on: (a) appropriate application of standards set by a national standards association; (b) careful evaluation of equipment prior to purchase; (c) comprehension of equipment function by the user; (d) conscientious routine servicing of all systems concerned with anesthesia and resuscitation, and checking after service and before clinical use; (e) preanesthesia testing of equipment, including the use of an oxygen analyser in the breathing circuit; (f) early inclusion of equipment malfunction in the differential diagnosis of events during anesthesia; and (g) rapid action that cannot present a new hazard to the patient to correct the results of apparatus malfunction.

Accidents↗
PubMed1978

An assessment of operating room environment air contamination with nitrous oxide and halothane and some scavenging methods.

This study was designed to assess operating room contamination with nitrous oxide and halothane when nitrous oxide 3 1/min and oxygen 2 1/min containing halothane one per cent were passed into a semiclosed circle absorber system from which the patients' lungs were ventilated with an Ohio ventimeter through a cuffed tracheal tube, with the exhaled gas vented to the floor. The normal room ventilation did not consistently maintain levels below the suggested amounts, which are nitrous oxide 25 ppm and halothane 2 ppm. Careful daily check for and correction of high and low pressure leaks combined with the use of a Foregger scavenging device (7--351--005) and continuous wall vacuum accepting approximately 22 1/min enabled geometric mean values below the suggested levels to be achieved. The Protection Filter Foregger 7--365--001 was only effective in removing halothane and only if the plastic holder provided was radically modified. Attention is drawn to the numerous factors influencing the magnitude of contamination, aspects of controlling it, and the necessity to cope with the problem of dealing with scavenged gases and vapours.

Air Pollutants↗