Category: NIHON KOHDEN Life Scope TR (BSM-6000 series), Life Scope PT (BSM-1733, BSM-1753, BSM-1763, BSM-1773), Life Scope Telemetry, Life Scope J (BSM-9101) bedside monitor, Nihon Kohden SpO2 algorithm type, semi-quantitative Waveform, Host Monitor, MULTI connectors, discontinuous seamless monitoring, IntelliVue X2, patient monitoring
Life Scope PT transport monitors are derived from the bulky input units of Life Scope TR (BSM-6000 series) bedside monitor |
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These 5.5-inch transport monitors are adapted from the three types of multi-parameter Input Units designed initially for configured Life Scope TR (BSM-6000 series) bedside monitors, and both transport monitors and Input Units are later extended to subsequent Life Scope J (BSM-9101) bedside monitor, Life Scope G9 (CSM-1901) bedside monitor, Life Scope G5 (CSM-1500 series) bedside monitors, and Life Scope G7 (CSM-1700 series) bedside monitors.
The transport monitors were realized by the addition of touch-screen, storage memory and rechargeable battery to the existing Input Units, doing
away the need to attach it to a portable monitor during patient transfer; this means Life Scope PT transport monitor first act as an Input Unit to a Host Monitor, and upon detachment as input unit, becomes a transport monitor. The design is an attempt to imitate the Philips
IntelliVue MMS X2, but with an unfavorable difference. This is because it is not a system design from scratch, the transport monitors when detached from the host monitors have no wireless link to the central monitor! This flaw at the system level will be discussed in details later in this same article.
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Configured Input Units made into Transport Monitors imitating Philips IntelliVue MMS X2 |
There are three types of Input Units, but four types of Life Scope PT transport monitors.
Before the Life Scope PT transport monitor, Nihon Kohden offered three types of Input Units used by Life Scope TR (BSM-6000) bedside monitors for export. The AY-663P Input Unit uses NIHON KOHDEN SpO2 algorithm while AY-653P Input Unit offers Nellcor OxiMax SpO2 algorithm, and the AY-633P Input Unit offers Masimo SET SpO2 algorithm. Only input units using Nellcor and Masimo algorithms are available in the US market.
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Similarly configured input units with different SpO2 algorithms |
On the other hand, there are four models of Life Scope PT (BSM-1700 series) transport monitors, namely
1. BSM-1773 transport monitor (Nihon Kohden older SpO2 algorithms)
2. BSM-1763 transport monitor (Nihon Kohden current SpO2 algorithms)
3. BSM-1753 transport monitor (OEM SpO2 board supplied by Nellcor)
4. BSM-1733 transport monitor (OEM SpO2 board supplied by Masimo)
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Life Scope PT transport monitor with telemetry transmitter |
The only difference among the four models is the SpO2 algorithms.
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The four types of Life Scope PT transport monitors |
The two models (BSM-1773 and BSM-1763) on left side of above image make use of Nihon Kohden SpO2 algorithms but they have different version of SpO2 algorithm. The SpO2 algorithm for the USA market and ex-USA market are not the same version, the manufacturer is of course not obliged to explain the reason why the latest version is refrained from use in the USA market.
The remaining two models on the right side of above image, namely BSM-1733 and BSM-1753 are using SpO2 OEM boards supplied by Masimo and Nellcor respectively.
Some
sales people are very excited about the bigger screen of Life Scope PT in the market but overlooked their own lack of knowledge why the configured multi-parameter Input
Units of Life Scope TR (BSM-6000 series) bedside monitors are so different and big from the competitions that a 5.7 inch
screen can just be mounted on their sides!
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Why are the Input Units of Life Scope TR so big and different from the competitions? |
Why is the shown input unit so big and different from other competitors? This is because they are configured with more internal hardware than others.
The shown input unit is in fact, heavily loaded with patient-monitoring hardware inside, and avoided for mention in product communication to the market, intentionally done to hide the fact the input units are not modular in design |
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Many internal hardware are not made clear in product communication to the market |
The prominent feature of the AY-663P Input Unit (or Life Scope PT transport monitor) is the utilization of flexible MULTI (short for multi-parameter) sockets that are for sharing use by a group of internal hardware, and these sockets are colored in yellow.
The yellow MULTI sockets can
be utilized for IBP, Temperature, Cardiac Output, FiO2 and Thermistor Respiration, plus a variety of digital serial kit sets. These MULTI
sockets demand the use of measurement cables with valid NIHON KOHDEN
digital hexadecimal parameter codes embedded in their connection plugs;
this is a mandatory requirement because the sockets are shared for many parameters. The
parameter code informs the monitor what internal hardware and software
are needed to support a newly plugged-in measurement cable, since there will
be more than one type of measurement cables.
The
end result of using flexible MULTI sockets means a certain amount of physical connector
sockets are removed from the monitor, which upsets users. There is no benefit from having socket flexibility, since shortage of physical connector sockets leads to serious usage inflexibility for users!
The archaic concept of a MULTI-PARAMETER UNIT (MPU) from the 1990s |
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