Maintenance is a crucial topic in the life cycle management of medical equipment. Evidence-based maintenance consists of continuous monitoring of equipment performance, starting from evidence—the current state from the point of view of fault history—and improving its efficiency through the necessary modifications. This process is very important for optimizing the use and allocation of the resources available by the clinical engineering departments. Maintenance of medical equipment consists of two basic activities: scheduled maintenance and corrective maintenance. The purpose of this chapter is to present document-based methods to evaluate every aspect of the medical equipment maintenance process and to provide a correct, objective and standardized approach that supports clinical engineering activities. Following the analysis, the results show that the combination of the use of the two methods provides an overview, in a periodic manner, of maintenance performance that indicates the use of the most appropriate procedures.

Medical equipment risk assessment is part of an overall medical equipment management program for a healthcare facility or system. A complete program includes corrective maintenance or repair, equipment control, asset management, health care technology planning, education, and activities directed toward improving medical device-related patient safety. The purpose of this paper is to provide some guidance lines in establishing and managing a medical equipment quality assurance program and to present some procedures for inspection, maintenance, evaluation, and performance testing for some medical devices. A computerized medical equipment management system is described. The results demonstrate that it is a useful tool in tracking device inventory and maintenance history. Also risk classes have been designed for medical devices based on the time of testing, risk must be identified in relation to patient and staff member. The results of this paper take into consideration the advances in device reliability, reduced preventive maintenance requirements, and internal device surveillance (self test) along with changes in standards.

This paper presents the results of electrocardiography (ECG) signals recording when the subjects were exposed to magneto therapy procedure, with different magnetic field pulses. After the time domain and frequency domain representations of the recorded signals, there were trying to recover ECG signals waveforms, especially those during magneto therapy. In order to identify possible changes in ECG signals during the exposure to magnetic fields, there were also determined the R-R interval variability before, during and after magneto therapy.

Atherosclerosis remains the leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide characterized by the deposition of lipids and fibrous elements in the form of atheroma plaques in vascular areas which are hemodynamically overloaded. The global burden of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is steadily increasing and is considered the largest known non-infectious pandemic. The management of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is increasing the cost of health care worldwide, which is a concern for researchers and physicians and has caused them to strive to find effective long-term strategies to improve the efficiency of treatments by managing conventional risk factors. Primary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is the preferred method to reduce cardiovascular risk. Fasting, a Mediterranean diet, and caloric restriction can be considered useful clinical tools. The protective impact of physical exercise over the cardiovascular system has been studied in recent years with the intention of explaining the mechanisms involved; the increase in heat shock proteins, antioxidant enzymes and regulators of cardiac myocyte proliferation concentration seem to be the molecular and biochemical shifts that are involved. Developing new therapeutic strategies such as vagus nerve stimulation, either to prevent or slow the disease’s onset and progression, will surely have a profound effect on the lives of millions of people.

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Drones have evolved significantly in recent years, acquiring greater autonomy and carrier capacity. Therefore, drones can play a substantial role in civil medicine, especially in emergency situations or for the detection and monitoring of disease spread, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this paper is to present the real possibilities of using drones in field rescue operations, as well as in nonsegregated airspace, in order to obtain solutions for monitoring activities and aerial work in support of the public health system in crisis situations. The particularity of our conceptual system is the use of a “swarm” of fast drones for aerial reconnaissance that operate in conjunction, thus optimizing both the search and identification time while also increasing the information area and the operability of the system. We also included a drone with an RF relay, which was connected to a hub drone. If needed, a carrier drone with medical supplies or portable devices can be integrated, which can also offer two-way audio and video communication capabilities. All of these are controlled from a mobile command center, in real time, connected also to the national dispatch center to shorten the travel time to the patient, provide support with basic but life-saving equipment, and offer the opportunity to access remote or difficult-to-reach places. In conclusion, the use of drones for medical purposes brings many advantages, such as quick help, shortened travel time to the patient, support with basic but life-saving equipment, and the opportunity to access remote or difficult-to-reach places.

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