GE HEALTHCARE B20, User'S Reference Manual

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Alarms
5-3
Alarm indications
•
When the monitor is turned on, you will hear a beep: this tells you that the alarm audio
signal is working. Also the alarm light are lit up in red, yellow and cyan. You can also check
the functioning of the audio signal through
Alarms Setup - Alarm Volume
.
•
If alarms are turned off or a power interruption occurs when there is no battery backup,
for up to 15 minutes, check the alarm status before you start monitoring again.
•
If the monitor is connected to the network, the alarms can be heard and seen on the
Central as well. Please, consult the "iCentral User's Reference Manual: Alarms" or “CIC Pro
Clinical Information Center Operator's Manual“ for details.
•
If the monitor is connected to the network, the alarms can also be silenced using the
Central if this feature has been enabled in Central configuration.
NOTES:
•
If the monitor is connected to the network, it also sends alarms to the central station.
•
If the monitor is connected to the nurse call, the high and medium priority alarms will
triggered the nurse call system.
•
If the alarms disabled in monitor, the alarm limits in central station are automatically set
beyond the maximum/minimum alarm limit values of bedside monitor.
•
When have the "memory error" message, the monitor will automatically return to default
settings, include the alarm preset.
•
When monitor starting up, alarm will beep and light to do self-testing automatically.
Alarm conditions
•
Physiological alarm conditions are triggered by a patient measurement exceeding the
parameter limits, or by an arrhythmia condition.
•
Technical alarm conditions are triggered by an electrical, mechanical, or other failure of
the equipment, or by failure of a sensor or component. Technical alarm conditions may
also be caused when an algorithm cannot classify or interpret the available data. The
visual manifestation of a technical alarm is active as long as the reason for that alarm
exists.
For more information about alarm conditions and alarm condition delay, see the “Default
Configuration Worksheet” for more details.
Alarm categories
The alarms are classified into four categories according to the priority: HIGH PRIORITY/RED
ALARM, MEDIUM PRIORITY/YELLOW ALARM, LOW PRIORITY/CYAN ALARM, MESSAGE/WHITE.
The priority of an alarm depends primarily on the cause and the duration (generally minimum
20 seconds) of the alarm condition, the priority increasing with the duration and according to
the physiological significance. Thus, for example, brady advances rapidly to high priority,
whereas apnea is allowed a slightly longer duration.