EQUIPMENT'S & SUPPLIES IN ICU

Patient monitoring equipment

Patient monitoring equipment includes the following:

• Cardiac Monitors: to monitor the electrical activity of the heart. Cardiac monitors continuously measures and displays data on vital signs, such as heart rate, blood pressure, cardiac output, and blood oxygen levels.
• Pulse Oximeter: to monitor the saturation of oxygen in the blood.
• Swan-Ganz catheter or pulmonary artery catheter: is used to measure the amount of fluid filling the heart as well as to determine how the heart is functioning.
• Intracranial pressure monitor—Measures the pressure of fluid in the brain in patients with head trauma or other conditions affecting the brain (such as tumors, edema, or hemorrhaging).
• Apnea monitor—continuously monitors breathing to detect cessation in infants and adults at risk of respiratory failure.
• Arterial Line: A very thin tube (catheter) is inserted into one of the patient's arteries (usually in the arm) to allow direct measurement of the blood pressure and to measure the concentration of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood. The arterial line is attached to a monitor.
• Intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP): It is a mechanical device that decreases myocardial oxygen demand while at the same time increasing cardiac output. These actions combine to decrease myocardial oxygen demand and increase myocardial oxygen supply.

Life support and emergency resuscitative equipment

ICU equipment for life support and emergency resuscitation include the following:

• Ventilator (also called a respirator)—Assists with or controls pulmonary ventilation in patients who cannot breathe on their own.
• Defibrillator: A defibrillator is used to "shock" the heart from an abnormal rhythm pattern back into a normal rhythm.
• External pacemaker: It is a device used to stimulate the heartbeat electrically by means of impulses conducted through the chest wall, as used in emergency care of significant bradyarrhythmias.
• Infusion pump: An electronic device used to control the administration of intravenous fluids in very small amounts and at a carefully regulated rate over long periods. it is a device that delivers fluids intravenously or epidurally, including continuous anaesthesia, drugs, and blood infusions.
• Crash cart—Portable cart containing emergency resuscitation equipment for patients who are "coding" (that is, their vital signs are in a dangerous range), including a defibrillator, airway intubation devices, resuscitation bag/mask, and medication box.
• Suction machine

Diagnostic equipment

The use of diagnostic equipment is also required in the ICU.

• Mobile x-ray units are used for bedside radiography, particularly of the chest.
• Portable clinical laboratory devices, called point-of-care analyzers, are used for blood analysis at the bedside to provide results much faster than if samples were sent to the central laboratory.

Tubes & Catheters in the ICU

• Central venous catheter (CVC): is a soft, pliable tube that is inserted into a large vessel (vein) in the neck (internal jugular vein), in the upper chest (subclavian vein), or in the groin area (femoral vein).
• Intravenous set (IV): is a plastic catheter (tube) that is inserted into the veins (peripheral IV) or a larger size catheter inserted into the larger veins of the neck for fluids, medications, nutrition preparations, and blood products..
• Chest tubes: Chest tubes to drain fluid or air that has accumulated.
• GI Tube: used to introduce liquids, food, or medication into the stomach.
• Nasogastric Tube (NG Tube): for direct "tube feeding" to maintain the nutritional status.
• Shunt: A procedure to draw off excessive fluid in the brain.
• Urinary catheter: Urinary catheters, often referred to as Foley catheters, are inserted through the urethra into the bladder. Urinary catheters continuously drain the bladder and allow for accurate measurement of urinary output, which is extremely important in fluid management and in assessing kidney function.
• Endotracheal tubes: Endotracheal tubes are used when mechanical ventilation is necessary.
• Some common items used in Critical care unit: Bed pad, Bedpan, Gloves, Hand-washing Foam, Hospital Beds and Mattresses, Hospital Clothing, Intravenous (IV) Feeding, Intravenous (IV) Fluids, Liquid Tube Feeding, Oxygen Supply, Drug supply etc.