“Week 3” (Spring Break): Machinery, Maintenance, and Monitoring

Eugene j -

Hey Everyone! Welcome to my post, which is definitely being posted during the Spring Break. Just ignore the post date.

But now, seriously, I had spent my Spring Break in Mexico, and right when we were coming back, the I-17 was closed down, forcing us to sleep in the car and take a different path the next day. So, I am posting this now since I couldn’t do any further research.

Here is an update and corrections on my internship.

Mr. Shoots is a Biomedical Equipment Technician 4 (BioMed Tech 4), the highest rank of technician. I will better explain inspections next, but the “over an hour” long inspections only ever happen when multiple weird things are happening, but the tech isn’t exactly damaged, which is very, very unusual.

I have now spent another week at the hospital, so I better understand the specifics of our job. The main body of work is doing preemptive maintenance (PM) every year. Technically, inspecting/checking machinery is different from PM-ing. Inspections are surface-level and not necessarily mechanical. PM is the manufacturer’s list of tasks and programs to ensure the machine works correctly. An electrocardiogram (EKG) reads the heart’s electrical signals (and no, unfortunately, I cannot use it for my research). In this case, an inspection will check the cables, replace the clips used to attach to the patient, and ensure nothing is damaged. Then, the PM will connect the nodes (where the clips typically go) to a testing system and run a set of known programs to see if all the cables work, if the system correctly reads the data, and outputs the heart rhythm. At the center of each patient wing is an area with TVs showing all the vital monitors for all patients. If one monitor does not appear on the TVs, then perhaps the TV only needs to reconnect to the monitor, or you might only need to turn it off and on again, which would only be an inspection. Still, if the monitor has a problem connecting to the TVs, it needs to be replaced or reset, which would be a PM. Due to the many types of machines at the hospital, the difference between an inspection and a PM can feel arbitrary. Still, for the most part, a PM will run every machine function to see if it still falls under the manufacturer’s guidelines.

Then, if there is a problem with the machine beyond calibration, we will do corrective maintenance (CM), which is fixing or replacing any internal parts. Most machines can be repaired, but it depends on what the manufacturer wants and how critical they are. The machines we can’t fix are mostly grouped as the extremely expensive ones. A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner could cost up to a quarter million dollars. Every year, we inspect it and check the functions (PM), but if there is literally anything wrong with it, we send it to the manufacturers to fix it. The same happens to other machines, like a Di Vinci Surgical System, which costs about two million dollars.

Also, not to brag … But … this is me standing next to one.

Fine. I'll be honest. This image is not related to my project at all, but it is just so cool that I was able to actually see one of these machines in person.
Fine. I’ll be honest. This image is unrelated to my project, but it is just so cool that I could actually see one of these machines in person.

Thanks for Reading!

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Comments:

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    mae_b
    Hi Eugene! That is an awesome photo. Why do you send machines straight to the manufacturer if something is wrong - is it simply because certain machines are so expensive?
    March 19, 2025 at 2:03 pm - Reply
      eugene_j
      It is different for every machine from different manufacturers. Many machines have separate parts that can be easily replaced, but some, mainly the more expensive ones, are a single, continuous unit. This allows the machine to last longer and be better constructed, but that also means that the manufacturers want to repair it themselves to ensure it is done correctly. Also, in some cases, the proper method for disassembling or repairing the machine is not publicly known. It is just the safest method to ensure everything is done properly.
      April 21, 2025 at 9:01 pm - Reply
    samantha_g
    Humble brag. That is pretty cool though. Are you able to actively help in inspecting the machines? I would have so many questions if I saw that machine as a patient.
    March 23, 2025 at 9:12 pm - Reply
      eugene_j
      I can actively help inspect and perform PMs on machines. However, the machines I'm doing are not these expensive and cool-looking ones. The only reason I was in the surgery section of the hospital was that we were looking to replace a different machine, which looks pretty much like a box or pc.
      April 21, 2025 at 9:06 pm - Reply
    mason_t
    Very cool! Are inspections and PMs done by the same person or are they usually done by two consecutive specialists? Thanks!
    March 24, 2025 at 6:34 pm - Reply
      eugene_j
      I believe that, in most cases, inspections and PMs can be done by a single person. However, as the machine's complexity increases, the steps for the PM also increase; this allows another person to help, as they can split the tasks. I guess that these extremely complex machines, which manufacturers want to repair and maintain themselves, require multiple specialists for each specific model.
      April 21, 2025 at 9:12 pm - Reply
    maleea_m
    That's so neat! Are technicians always on-site in case a machine breaks or are they separate contractors that come when called? You mentioned not being able to read vitals on the TV so I wondered about how long the response time is to recalibrate it. Very interesting stuff!
    March 27, 2025 at 2:05 pm - Reply
      eugene_j
      The Biomed Shop has most of the technicians, possibly all of them, who are regularly there. For the most part, the Shop is open from 9 to 5, with occasional staff on weekends. When the Shop is closed, there is nobody on-site to repair anything, but there are always backups and redundancies at the machine's location. There is a chance that the vitals don't appear on the TV, but there are four different monitors in total: one directly next to the patient, one at the center of each patient wing, one at central monitoring for all patients at the hospital, and one at the Camp Verde hospital. It is extremely unlikely that multiple will break down at once, and even if they do, the hospital can likely call the Biomed Staff to come in case of an emergency. However, for very specific machines like the Di Vinci, there might be only one at the hospital. If it stops working, we just need to wait for the manufacturer to send it back after repairs. Unfortunately, I don't know what happens if it stops midway through surgery.
      April 21, 2025 at 9:26 pm - Reply

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