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Medical equipment is designed to aid in the diagnosis, monitoring or treatment of medical conditions. These devices are usually designed with rigorous safety standards. The medical equipment is included in the category Medical technology.
There are several basic types:
- Diagnostic equipment includes medical imaging machines, used to aid in diagnosis. Examples are ultrasound and MRI machines, PET and CT scanners, and x-ray machines.
- Therapeutic equipment includes infusion pumps, medical lasers and LASIK surgical machines.
- Life support equipment is used maintain a patient's bodily function. These include medical ventilators, anaesthetic machines, heart-lung machines, ECMO, and dialysis machines.
- Medical monitors allow medical staff to measure a patient's medical state. Monitors may measure patient vital signs and other parameters including ECG, EEG, blood pressure, and dissolved gases in the blood.
- Medical laboratory equipment automates or helps analyze blood, urine and genes.
- Diagnostic Medical Equipment may also be used in the home for certain purposes, e.g. for the control of diabetes mellitus
A biomedical equipment technician (BMET) is a vital component of the healthcare delivery system. Employed primarily by hospitals, BMETs are the people responsible for maintaining a facility's medical equipment.
Inventions
- 1895, X-ray, by Wilhelm Röntgen
- 1903, electrocardiograph, by Willem Einthoven
- 1956, endoscope, by Basil Hirschowitz
- 1958, ultrasound scan, by Ian Donald
- 1973, CT (CAT) scan, by Godfrey Hounsfield and Allan Cormack
- 1982, artificial heart, by Robert Jarvik
- Source
- Running Press Cyclopedia, second edition
Notable medical equipment companies
- Boston Scientific
- Beckman Coulter
- GE Healthcare
- Getinge Group
- Heine Optotechnik
- Johnson & Johnson
- MAQUET
- Medtronic
- Mindray
- Philips
- St. Jude Medical
- Siemens AG
See also
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