Philips Avalon FM20 - Preparing to Measure Noninvasive Blood Pressure

17 Monitoring Noninvasive Blood Pressure
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CAUTION
If you spill liquid onto the equipment or accessories, particularly if there is a chance that it can get
inside the tubing or the measurement device, contact your service personnel.
Measurement Limitations
Measurements are impossible with heart rate extremes of less than 40 bpm or greater than 300 bpm, or
if the patient is on a heart-lung machine.
The measurement may be inaccurate or impossible:
• with excessive and continuous patient movement such as during contractions
• if a regular arterial pressure pulse is hard to detect
• with cardiac arrhythmias
• with rapid blood pressure changes
• with severe shock or hypothermia that reduces blood flow to the peripheries
• with obesity, where a thick layer of fat surrounding a limb dampens the oscillations coming from
the artery
• on an edematous extremity.
Measurement Methods
There are two measurement methods:
• Manual - measurement on demand. Results are displayed for up to one hour.
• Auto - continually repeated measurements (between one and 120 minute adjustable interval). You
can make a manual measurement between two measurements in Auto mode.
Reference Method
The measurement reference method can be Auscultatory (manual cuff) or Invasive (intra-arterial). For
further information, see the Application Note supplied on the monitor documentation DVD.
To check the current setting, select
Main Setup -> Measurements ->NBP, and check whether the
Reference setting is set to Auscultatory or Invasive. This setting can be changed in Configuration
Mode.
Preparing to Measure Noninvasive Blood Pressure
If possible, avoid taking measurements during contractions because the measurement may be
unreliable and may cause additional stress for the patient.
1 Connect the cuff to the air tubing.
2 Plug the air tubing into the red NBP connector. Avoid compression or restriction of pressure
tubes. Air must pass unrestricted through the tubing.
3 Make sure that you are using a Philips-approved correct sized cuff and that the bladder inside the
cover is not folded or twisted.