Technical Guideline for Telemetry Transmitters

Telemetry transmitters are portable devices that continuously transmit patient ECG & Sp02 rates to central monitoring stations. These signals are transported from the transmitters back to the central station where data can be recorded and used to alert clinical operators when there is a change to the monitored parameters. Given the ability to analyze the change in the data, could help nurses and doctors detect heart problems, pain, or discomfort in patients early. This allows them to make necessary diagnosis to improve patient care and outcome.

The transmitters are typically attached to the patient and are always being transported with the patients wherever they need to go. Therefore, the most common issues found on these devices are physical and fluid damage.

In this article, we will discuss how physical and fluid damage affects the functionality of the telemetry transmitters, and how our repair service at Avante Health Solutions, can help with solving the issues.

How does physical damage affect the function of the Telemetry Transmitters?

Depending on the model and design of the case housing, the physical damage could affect the functionality of the device in different ways, such as:

Philips IntelliVue M4841A
The battery terminal is attached to the front case housing, so physical damage near the battery terminal could cause the battery springs to miss locate which could also cause a short or an open circuit at the battery terminal that affects the device fails on “power on self-test”.

Philips IntelliVue MX40 + GE Apex Pro & CH
This transmitter has a battery door that secures the battery in place to power the device. If the case housing or the battery door gets physically damaged or loosened, this will affect the “power-on” functionality of the device. After this happens, the device will no longer receive input power from the inserted battery to properly power the transmitter.

Mindray Datascope 608
If physical damage is found to the ECG block assembly, this could cause the device to malfunction causing it to not accurately transmit the input ECG signals from the leads. In this case, the transmitter will get an intermittent signal or a wrong reading.

Depending on the depth of the physical damage, sometimes it could affect internal issues such as loose connectors or damaged internal components. If you are experiencing this, the device normally is no longer functional, and it needs to be sent in for service immediately.

How does fluid damage affect the function of the device?

Fluid damage usually builds corrosion on the case housing. Corrosion normally could be found on the ECG block pins, battery terminal, or comport pins of the telemetry transmitters. For Example:

• Fluid damage found at ECG block pins could cause the transmitter to be unable to receive the input ECG signals from the lead ECG electrodes. If this happens, there is a leadset unplugged issue with the transmitter.
• Fluid damage found at the comport pins could cause the device to be unable to be recognized by the programming tools. If this happens, transmitters are not able to transmit data or receive input data from another interface equipment.
• Fluid damaged battery terminal could cause the device to have issues receiving power input from the inserted battery. In this case, the device will have interment power issues or no power.

For safety, do not use the transmitters if they have physical or fluid damage. Always double check the telemetry transmitters to make sure they are free from physical and fluid damage before putting them into service.

Avante’s team of technical experts can help ensure your devices are free from physical or fluid damage. Here is how our in-hour repair depot can help with solving these issues:

To remove physical and fluid damage, we will replace the case with a new case housing assembly. We will also inspect the circuit PCBs to make sure they are free of fluid or physical damage. Once the device is completely assembled, it will be put under rigorous quality and performance tests to ensure the transmitter functions are restored, and the device operates at OEM specifications. For more information about Avante’s repair capabilities, call one of our experts at 800-449-5328.

Service Repair Flowchart Diagram