Medical equipment is used in a patient care environment to support patient treatment and diagnosis. They can be defined as devices intended for diagnostic, therapeutic, or monitoring care provided to a patient. This equipment can be classified into 5 major groups, which are:
1) Durable Medical Equipment (DME)
2) Diagnostic Equipment
3) Life Support Equipment
4) Treatment Equipment
5) Medical Laboratory Equipment
1. Durable Medical Equipment
This equipment group is used mainly to provide therapeutic benefits (comfort and safety) for specific illnesses. A physician must prescribe their use. The name ‘durable’ is derived from the fact that they have been tested for quality. They can also withstand repeated use. It is a long-term and reusable device that can be used in the hospital or at home for patient care.
Their examples include manual/electric wheelchairs, walkers or crutches, breast pumps, kidney machines, insulin pumps, nebulizers, blood sugar meters, stationary or portable oxygen tanks, lancets, pressure mattresses, patient lifts, traction equipment, and so on.
2. Diagnostic Equipment
They are used as their name implies to determine a patient’s condition. The doctor checks for any abnormality in the affected part of the body that could cause the symptoms exhibited. Based on the patient’s symptoms, a diagnostic test is carried out using suitable equipment to evaluate the internal state of the patient.
Examples of diagnostic equipment include stethoscopes, thermometer, blood pressure monitor, dopplers, pulse oximeter, patient scale, medical imaging equipment such as X-ray machine, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, echocardiography, laryngeal mirror, tong spatial, Snellen vision chart, etc.
3. Life Support Equipment
They are used to maintain the bodily function of a patient. Without life-support machines for those it is used for, it will be difficult for the patient’s system to function independently.
Examples are the heart-lung machine that functions temporarily as the heart or lung of the patient during surgery; medical ventilators designed for proper breathing on patients that have difficulty in breathing, dialysis machine essential for those who have kidney damage or lost kidney function, incubators used for neonatal intensive care, intermittent peritoneal dialysis machine, chronic positive airways pressure respirators (CPAP), Crigler Najjar syndrome phototherapy equipment, etc.
4. Treatment Equipment
They include any medical equipment that is designed to treat a condition. It also consists of surgical supplies designed to provide treatment for certain conditions that require surgical intervention.
Examples are infusion pumps, medical lasers, gauzes and drapes, plaster (to cover an injury with an adhesive), ice bag (for cold compresses), hot bottle (for warm compresses), colostomy Bag (to accommodate feces in patients after colon surgery), LASIK surgical machines and so on.
5. Medical Laboratory Equipments
They are often used in medical clinics and diagnostic laboratories. These types of equipment are intended to analyze blood, urine, genes, and other biological material.
Examples of medical laboratory equipment include microscopes, chemistry analyzers, hematology analyzers, coagulation analyzers, blood gas analyzers, drug testing analyzers, electrolyte analyzers, blood collection supplies, urinalysis analyzers, autoclave, centrifuge, water bath, micropipettes, test tubes, glasswares, e.t.c.