Welch Allen Monitors

[Riblett]

I had the experience of the Welch-Allen monitors a few weeks ago. A service with whom I was doing clinicals was testing them out. Working for two different systems, both using very different equipment I don't consider myself wholly oppositional. I tried the new one out with an open mind. I hated it.

The housing was so poorly designed that you had to practically take the machine out of the case to reach the defib button. There was no good way to put the cables in to where they don't get tangled up beyond all reason just by taking out the pulse ox (which we could not get a reading on the entire day).

Out of the 7 patients we put on the 4 lead, had only 3 of them that would pick up a rhythm and 1 of those showed a rhythm for about 2 minutes then lost it. The process of doing a 12 lead is long and ominous and the printer jammed continually.

Has anyone else used this brand monitor and had better luck?

[JPINFV]

Was it a PIC brand monitor?

The company I used to work for used them for CCTs (from before Welch Allyn bought out Medical Research Laboratories) and we never seemed to have a problem with them. Granted, we didn't employ 12 lead monitoring and only used quick pads (carried paddles in the RN equipment bag, but the pads were connected at all times). With the design, I can see how doing 12 lead monitoring could become cumbersome due to the location of the cable ports (below and behind the med box on top) unless you're able to keep the extra cables untangled in a side pouch.

In general, there wasn't any troubles getting a good signature using chest leads (to be honest, I've never attached the limb leads to the limbs for 3 or 5 lead monitoring, be it prehospital or hospital monitoring) and no problems reaching any of the buttons. As with attaching the leads, connecting it to an AC adapter and changing the batteries can also be a smidge cumbersome.

Edit: I see the problem. I can see if you aren't intimately comfortable with the monitor that finding the fire button (near the cable connections) could be a problem. I don't think it should be a problem, though, if you know where it is and aren't resorting to hunting around for it.

[ccmedoc]

I don't care for these much. If you need to carry a boat anchor, might as well be a LP12.

[JPINFV]

I don't care for these much. If you need to carry a boat anchor, might as well be a LP12.

Custom built cot mounts for the save. Put an actual quick release mount instead of semi-jerry rigging one (used only for CCTs, so the only time I've had to take one off the mount was when the C-clamp that mounted everything to the gurney's frame was left on another unit's gurney), and you won't have to worry so much about carrying it around.

(Monitor on the right, 3 line IV pump on the left).