EQUIPMENTS USED IN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

AIRWAY
An airway is a device that helps keep the mouth and windpipe
open so that air can reach the lungs. It may also be used to help prevent
biting down on the tongue or breathing tube. (Note: Airway is also used to
describe the normal passageway for air into and out of the body during
breathing, from the mouth and/or nose to the lungs.)

ARTERIAL LINE
Critically ill or injured patients frequently have profound abnormalities in their blood
pressure. The arterial line provides a way to constantly measure a
patient's blood pressure and may be essential to the stabilization of the
patient. Arterial lines may be useful in patients with very high or low blood
pressures. The arterial line also provides access for frequent blood
sampling. Blood can be withdrawn from the patient through the arterial
line tubing without having to use a needle for each blood draw.
Arterial lines may be inserted in the wrist (radial artery), armpit
(axillary artery), groin (femoral artery), or foot (pedal artery). The arterial
line is inserted into the artery by the same technique used to insert a
regular peripheral IV. The arterial line is usually sutured (sewed) to the
overlying skin to assure that it remains in the artery. An arterial line
insertion causes the similar discomfort to that associated with the insertion of a regular
peripheral IV. The arterial line tubing is connected to the bedside monitor, where the patient's
blood pressure is constantly displayed.

BEDSIDE MONITOR
A bedside monitor is a display of major body functions on a
device that looks like a television screen or computer monitor. The
number of body functions the monitor measures is up to the doctor and
nurse.
The monitor is attached to wires, called leads. At the other end,
the leads are attached to sensing devices attached to the patient's body.
The sensing device sends electronic signals to the monitor, which
displays the readings for the specific body function being monitored.
BI-LEVEL POSITIVE AIR PRESSURE (BIPAP) MACHINE
The BIPAP machine is a specific type of breathing machine that
helps the patient breathe. It is a small, bedside respiratory machine
connected to tubing and a facemask worn by the patient. The BIPAP
machine does two things - it helps push air into the lungs and helps hold
the lungs open to allow more oxygen to enter the lungs. Each time the
patient breathes, the BIPAP machine assists the patient by applying air
pressure to the lungs while the patient is breathing out (exhaling or
expiration) in order to hold open the air sacs in the lungs.

BREATHING BAG (MANUAL RESUSCITATOR)

A breathing bag is a device used to temporarily help a patient
breathe. When a patient needs help breathing, a respiratory therapist,
doctor or nurse places the breathing bag face mask over the patient's
mouth and nose. The breathing bag is connected to an oxygen source.
The bag is then squeezed and oxygen is pushed into the patient's lungs.
If the patient has a breathing tube in place, the breathing bag may be
directly connected to the breathing tube.

BREATHING MACHINE (MECHANICAL VENTILATOR)

A breathing machine helps the patient breathe. It is designed to
help patients who cannot breathe adequately on their own. The breathing
machine does not fix any problems of the lungs. It is a device that simply
pushes air and oxygen into the lungs and withdraws carbon dioxidefrom
the lungs. The lungs must function in order for the breathing machine to
be effective.

BREATHING TUBE (ENDOTRACHEAL TUBE)

A breathing tube is a plastic tube used during artificial respiration, a
procedure to assist a patient in breathing. One end of the breathing
(endotracheal) tube is placed into the windpipe (trachea) through the
mouth or nose. The other end of the tube is connected to a breathing
machine (mechanical ventilator) or breathing bag (manual resuscitator).
The breathing tube provides an airway so that air and oxygen from the
breathing machine or breathing bag can be provided to the lungs.
CENTRAL VENOUS CATHETER
A central venous catheter is a special IV line that is inserted into a
large vein in the body. Several veins are used for central venous
catheters including those located in the shoulder (subclavian vein), neck
(jugular vein), and groin (femoral vein). In some patients, a central venous
catheter may be inserted into the elbow vein (anticubital vein) and
advanced into the subclavian vein. These special IVs are used when the
patient either does not have adequate veins in the arms or needs special
medications and/or nutrition that cannot be given through the smaller arm
veins.

CHEST TUBE
A chest tube is a hollow tube placed between the lung and the chest
wall (pleural space). The chest tube provides a way to drain air, blood or
other fluids that may have accumulated in the pleural space. The pleural
space normally has a small amount of fluid within it.

COMPRESSION STOCKINGS
Compression stockings are plastic wraps that are placed around a
patient's legs in order to decrease the chance of blood clot formation. They
have compartments that inflate and deflate, gently squeezing the muscles
of the legs. The stockings are connected to a small compressor that
controls the timing of the inflation/deflation cycles. The squeezing action of
the compression stockings improves the circulation in the leg veins, thus
decresing the chance of clot formation. Most ICU patients have an
increased risk of blood clot formation and compression stockings are one
of the measures used to decrease this risk. Unfortunately, no measure is
100% effective at preventing the formation of blood clots in the leg veins of
ICU patients.

CONTINUOUS POSITIVE AIR PRESSURE (CPAP) MACHINE

CPAP is a type of breathing machine that is designed to help oxygen enter the lungs.
CPAP does not breathe for the patient. CPAP does help hold the lungs open to allow more
oxygen to enter the lungs. The CPAP machine is connected to tubing and a facemask worn by
the patient.

DEFIBRILLATOR
A defibrillator is a device that is designed to pass electrical current
through a patient’s heart. The passing of electrical current through the heart
is called defibrillation. A defibrillation is done through pads placed on the
patient’s chest.
 A defibrillation is used to restore a patient’s heart rhythm to normal. Abnormal heart
rhythms may be treated with medications while other rhythms need to be treated with
defibrillation.

ELECTROCARDIOGRAPH (ECG OR EKG) MACHINE

An electrocardiograph machine is a device that measures and
records electrical activity in the heart by the use of ECG pads placed on
the chest and connected to wires, call leads. The leads are connected to a
bedside monitor where the information is displayed. ECGs are usually
measured in at least one view (i.e., one line on the monitor). Many doctors
and nurses want more than one view, often as many as twelve views, also
called leads. To measure these different views, ECG pads are placed on
several parts of the body. The nurse determines where to place these
pads based on the view of the heart that is desired.

INTRACRANIAL PRESSURE MONITORING

ICU patients who have sustained head trauma, brain hemorrhage,
brain surgery, or conditions in which the brain may swell might require
intracranial pressure monitoring. The purpose of ICP monitoring is to
continuously measure the pressure surrounding the brain. If the pressure
surrounding the brain gets too high, it can cause decreased blood flow to
the brain and potentially lead to brain damage.
The ICP monitor consists of a small plastic tube connected to a
bedside monitor, which continuously displays the pressure surrounding
the brain.
The ICP monitor is usually inserted by a neurosurgeon while the
patient is in the ICU or operating room. After using numbing medicine (local anesthetic), the
neurosurgeon makes a skin incision and inserts the ICP monitor into the brain through a very
small hole created in the skull. The ICP monitor is usually inserted in the left or right top-front
part of the brain.

NASOGASTRIC TUBE
A nasogastric (NG) tube is a flexible plastic tube that goes through
the patient's mouth or nose into the stomach. It is designed to remove
stomach contents or provide a route to give medication or food to a patient
who cannot swallow. The portion of the NG tube outside of the patient may
be plugged closed, connected to a delivery device or connected to a suction
device. NG tubes may be inserted while the patient is in the emergency
department, operating room, ICU, or regular hospital ward.
PULSE OXIMETRY
Pulse oximetry is the study of arterial oxygen
saturation, the amount of oxygen dissolved in the blood. A
pulse oximeter is the device that measures and displays the
oxygen arterial saturation.
The pulse oximeter is a small device that has to be in
contact with the skin to detect the oxygen saturation. The
device is usually place on the patient's finger, earlobe, toe or
nose. The pulse oximeter gives off light that determines the
oxygen saturation of the blood. The pulse oximeter is
connected to a digital screen where the arterial saturation is
constantly shown.

SUCTION MACHINE
This usually refers to a portable suction apparatus used in
wards and theatres for aspirating fluids and vomit from the mouth
and airways, and from operation sites by sucking the material
through a catheter into a bottle.

TRACHEOSTOMY TUBE
A tracheostomy tube is a small tube designed to be directly
placed into a patient's windpipe through the neck. The surgical
procedure of inserting a tracheostomy tube into a patient's
windpipe is called a tracheotomy.
A tracheostomy tube may be needed for ICU patients
requiring long-term mechanical ventilation, patients unable to
cough effectively to clear secretions, and patients with an
obstructed or blocked airway.