Mindray Vital Signs Monitors

A vital signs monitor is a small device that monitors the vitals of a patient. It measures  temperature, heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), oxygen saturation (O2 sat), and respiratory rate (RR). Vital signs monitors are used in hospitals and doctors' offices, but they can also be used for home-based medical care.

Vital signs monitors are electronic devices that helps provide information to the medical professionals or nursing staff about the physiologic condition of the patient. It comprises a set of modules as a flexible solution for real-time measurement of various physiological parameters to help gather accurate vital analyses. These types of monitors are also known as patient monitors.

The use of a vital signs monitor can help with the diagnosis and treatment of a number of medical conditions such as congestive heart failure, arrhythmia, shock, and trauma. It is also used in the recovery from anesthesia.

In recent years, it has been suggested that monitoring patients’ vital signs may be beneficial for the early detection of sepsis when used in conjunction with other diagnostic procedures such as chest X-rays and laboratory tests.

Possible future use cases for this type of technology could include monitoring patient's health as they go through surgery, monitoring their mental health as they progress through treatment, as well as monitoring the physical environment that they are in to ensure that it is not too hot or cold for them. Therefore, it would not only give accurate analysis for medical professionals but provide comfort for patients as well.

Why is vital signs monitoring important?

Vital monitoring is the process of measuring a person’s vital signs or the body's most basic functions which include heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, and respiratory rate. This data is collected in a piece of electronic medical equipment called vital signs monitors. These monitors produce different types of data which can be analyzed by healthcare providers on different levels which are also known as a patient monitoring system.

Vital signs monitoring is important in identifying if there are any changes in the person's medical condition. It provides an early warning system for possible complications or provides treatment for problems before they become lethal or life-threatening.

Vital signs monitoring is critical in our overall well-being. It could help indicate early signs of an infection, prevent a misdiagnosis or detect symptom-less medical problems.

What are the vital sign parameters you need to monitor?

Vital signs are indicators that reflect the functioning of major organ systems. Monitoring them can help doctor diagnose the patient’s condition.

Vital signs can be measured manually by doctors or nurses or it can also be done through medical devices like heart rate monitors, thermometers etc. The most important vital sign is the respiratory rate as it indicates how well a person is breathing.

The most common vital signs or physiologic parameters includes the heart rate of the patient, his blood pressure, body temperature, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation.

The first three are usually taken from an artery in the arm or from an artery near the surface of the skin. Oxygen saturation can be measured from a sensor that is placed on one or both of the patient's thumbs or feet while respiratory rate is measured by counting how many breaths the patient can take in a minute.

It is very important for nurses and other medical professionals to take these measurements and document them to ensure that they provide their patients with timely and accurate care. Hence, they need an accurate patient monitor that provides them a solid analysis of the patient's medical condition.

What is the normal range for vital signs?

Heart/Pulse Rate Monitoring

Causes of Higher Heart Rate

• Anxiety (although anxiety can also cause an abnormally low pulse)
• High body temperature / Dehydration
• Strenuous exercise (exercise-induced tachycardia)
• Disease or infection, such as sepsis or pneumonia or malaria
• Conditions such as high blood pressure and hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) or low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
• use of prohibited chemicals/drugs such as cocaine
  

Blood Pressure Monitoring

Blood pressure is measured by the significant force of blood pressing against the walls of an artery. It is often used to help patients diagnosed with various medical conditions, helps to determine how fast the patients' heart beats per minute and how well the heart pumps blood throughout his whole body.

The good thing was, lifestyle changes and proper medications can help control high blood pressure which in turn also prevents stroke. These changes in lifestyle and getting appropriate treatments can help reduce the risk of suffering from stroke by up to 40%.

A healthy person should have a resting blood pressure reading around 120/80 mmHg or lower.

Hypertension, the other term for high blood pressure is the biggest risk factor for stroke. It is a chronic condition in which the blood pressure flowing through the arteries is very high. Symptoms could include feeling numb, being weak, or being paralyzed on one side of the body.

Causes of High Blood Pressure

There are 3 primary causes for having a high blood pressure;

• Genetics: Some people inherits a tendency to develop high blood pressure from their parents.
• Lifestyle: Smoking, excessive drinking of alcohol, taking illegal drugs and poor diet or lack of physical activity are huge factors in developing high blood pressure.
• Medical conditions: Conditions such as kidney disease or diabetes can also lead to other  complications such as having high blood pressure.

Respiratory Monitoring

Respiration is a bodily function that includes bringing of oxygen into the bloodstream from the lungs while removing carbon dioxide from the blood via exhalation.

Respiration rate refers to the number of breaths taken in a minute by a person depending on environmental factors like air temperature or altitude. Other reasons could also include physical factors like age, sex, body weight, and a person's level of activity. A normal person's respiration rate is around 12 to 18 breaths per minute.

Breathing too fast (hyperventilation) or too slow (bradypnea) will disrupt this rate. Bradypnea is defined as a breathing pattern with decreased respiratory rate and depth. Hyperventilation, on the other hand is defined as a pattern of breathing that has rapid and deep breaths. Both of these patterns can cause an individual to feel lightheaded, dizzy, and anxious.

Respiration rate has many different uses in the medical field. Either it is used to diagnose certain conditions for people suffering from sleep apnea and asthma or it could also be used to calculate blood pressure.

In the future, people may use respiration rates to measure their emotional response to stressful situations or their physical activity level throughout the day.

O2 Saturation Monitoring

Oxygen saturation refers to the oxygen traveling through your body with your red blood cells. Oxygen saturation values of 95% to 100% are considered normal but a saturation level of under 70% could result in a severe or life-threatening consequence for the patient.

Hypoxemia or low oxygen saturation is a medical condition in the blood after the lungs were not able to get enough oxygen. The symptoms can be of different severity starting from having mild fatigue, being unconscious or even death.

Oxygen saturation is measured through a pulse oximeter with ranges from 0% to 100%. It could take mostly about 20 minutes for the body’s red blood cells to absorb all the oxygen it needs. The lower the blood oxygen level becomes, the greater risk there is for adverse consequences which could include decreased mental functioning and abnormal heart rhythms.

Temperature Monitoring

Body temperature is one of the vital signs that doctors monitor to check the health status of patients. It is important to understand that body temperature can be measured in different ways and it is hardly ever normal for a person's temperature to be the same every day.

The high range for a normal human body temperature is 97.8°F to 99.1°F, but it can increase or decrease depending on various factors, such as activity level or what you are wearing.

When measured together with other vital signs, a patient's body temperature can help paint an overall picture of a patient's health and assess circulatory, respiratory, neural and endocrine functioning.

Having a low temperature could cause a patient's blood vessels and arteries to narrow, restricting blood flow and reducing oxygen to the heart. The heart then must pump harder to circulate blood through the constricted blood vessels. It could then increase the patient's blood pressure and heart rate.