Title :
Thermo-Modulating Container for Protecting Point-of-Care Devices from Extreme Temperatures during Disaster Relief
Author :
Gamache, C.A. ; Rust, M.J. ; Kost, G.J.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Biomed. Eng., Western New England Univ., Springfield, MA, USA
Abstract :
When a crisis occurs, emergency medical responders must often operate outside of a hospital setting without basic resources such as electricity. As a result, they rely on point-of-care (POC) testing devices, which are designed to be portable for monitoring critical parameters such as blood gases and glucose levels. Unfortunately, POC devices often have narrow operating ranges, with typical temperature limits within ±10°C of room temperature. This presents significant challenges to the efficiency of the medical response effort since environmental temperatures can vary widely as a function of geography and seasonal weather patterns. To address this issue, a thermo-modulating container is being developed to protect POC devices from extreme temperatures during crisis care situations.
Keywords :
biomedical equipment; blood; emergency management; geography; meteorology; patient care; patient monitoring; portable instruments; POC device protection; basic resources; blood gases; crisis care situation; critical parameter monitoring; disaster relief; electricity; emergency medical responder; environmental temperature; extreme temperature; geography function; glucose level; hospital setting; medical response; point-of-care testing device; portable instrument; room temperature; seasonal weather pattern; temperature 293 K to 298 K; thermo-modulating container; typical temperature limits; Containers; Heating; Insulation; Temperature distribution; Temperature measurement; Temperature sensors; Testing; container; disaster; point of care; temperature;
Conference_Titel :
Bioengineering Conference (NEBEC), 2013 39th Annual Northeast
Conference_Location :
Syracuse, NY
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4673-4928-4
DOI :
10.1109/NEBEC.2013.146