Defibrillators Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Defibrillators - Essay ExamplePer the European Union legal framework, a medical examination device is an weapon that is used in diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of diseased conditions where its mode of action is not through chemic action in a patients body. Medical devices consist of enormous variations with think to their sophistication and scope of use, which ranges from tongue depressors to medical robots and cardiac pacemakers. Biomedical engineering involves fundamental aspects of the device production including designing, schema analysis, and practical application. This is in line with ensuring that quality and reliable devices. This paper seeks to highlight defibrillators as medical devices with regard to their history, scope of application and safety aspects of the device in terms of human factors engineering. It is estimated that about 30,000 people in the United Kingdom experience cardiac arrest away from the hospital annually and they are assisted by medical emer gency response units (Resuscitation Council, 2010). Such assistance is facilitated by the availability of portable medical devices, which prove essential in the delivery of the critically required services. Among the crucial devices required in relieving the cause of cardiac arrest is the defibrillator. Defibrillators are apparatus, external or implanted, that deliver an electric shock to the heart via the breast cavity in order to resort public heart rhythms. Defibrillators function by delivering a joust of electric current to the heart in order to polarise the muscles and nerve cells, allowing them resume a normal rhythm (Street, 2012). Implanted Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) constantly monitors the heartbeat rate as well as its rhythm to get a line abnormal and life threatening rhythms, which on detection an electric shock is sent to the heart to restore a normal rhythm (Defibrillation, n.d). The device also works as a pacemaker to bear the effectuate of the electric s hock, which slows down the rate of the heartbeat. The above is illustrative of a monitoring and feedback mechanism, where the defibrillators function establish on signals taken from the patient after its analysis. Among the external defibrillator units are automated external defibrillators (AED), which automate the patients heartbeat rhythms for monitoring as electric shock is administered to normalise the rhythm. AEDs consist of in-built computer systems that demonstrate the patients heartbeat in order to assess the need to administer defibrillation (Sciammarella, n.d.). One of the ordinary causes of cardiac arrest is ventricular fibrillation, which is characterised by chaotic, un organised electrical malfunction of the heart resulting in a less effective heartbeat (Khandpur, 2003). This chaotic electrical activity can be stopped and its effects reversed by the application of an electrical counter shock where heart assumes a normal and organised rhythm. Disorders in the generatio n of a normal pulse by the heart results irregular heartbeats manifested in arrhythmias. unnatural automaticity and triggered activity are characteristic of conduction abnormalities that trigger ventricular tachycardia. In addition to the use of medicinal drug and surgical procedures in the management of arrhythmias, defibrillation comes in handy in resolution of ventricular tachyarrhythmia and atrial fibrillation. This is in particular so for medical emergencies that occurs away from healthcare facilities.