A Novel Technique to Monitor Medical Equipment Modes of Operation

Abstract

Quantitative measurement of the effective usability of the medical equipment is an important parameter in the quality and performance assessment. This paper introduces a simple non-invasive technique for real time monitoring of medical equipment modes of operation based on its power consumption pattern. Mode of operation detection is needed to specify the medical equipment reliability, availability, maintainability and usability. The Electrical Signature Analysis technique (ESA), is applied to monitor the overall power consumption of the electromechanical and power components inside the medical equipment. ESA is extracted using the Root Mean Square (RMS) of the electric current measured by a meter interfaced to a PC via its USB port. The ESA of the medial equipment is recorded, analyzed and correlated with the stored electric current consumption patterns of each specific mode of operation. The results were promising to accomplish the medical equipment monitoring application.