Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician CBET

Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician CBET Flashcards: 557 cards

557 free Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician flashcards from the course's cheat sheet and glossary. Tap a card to flip it. Mark the ones you know and they drop out of the deck; the rest keep coming back.

Acronyms 288

802.11: IEEE 802.11. The family of Wi-Fi standards.
802.1X: IEEE 802.1X. Port-based network access control: a device must authenticate before the switch port or Wi-Fi passes traffic.
AA: AA cell. A common single-cell battery size, about 1.5 V.
AAMI: Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation. The standards body for medical equipment and the sponsor of the CBET credential.
ABC: Class A, B, and C fire extinguisher. A multipurpose extinguisher for ordinary combustibles, flammable liquids, and electrical fires.
AC: Alternating current. Mains power that reverses direction, 60 Hz in the US and 50 Hz elsewhere.
ACGIH: American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. The organization that publishes threshold limit values.
ACHC: Accreditation Commission for Health Care. An accrediting body that absorbed the HFAP hospital program.
ACI: AAMI Credentials Institute. The body within AAMI that administers the CBET and related certifications.
ACK: Acknowledgment (HL7 message). The reply an HL7 interface sends to confirm it received a message, carrying an accept or error code.
ADC: Analog-to-digital converter. Turns a continuous voltage into digital samples.
ADT: Admit, discharge, transfer. The HL7 messages that tell every system who is in which bed.
AE: Application entity. A DICOM node, identified by its AE title, IP address, and port.
AED: Automated external defibrillator. A defibrillator that analyzes the rhythm and advises a shock only for VF or pulseless VT.
AEM: Alternative equipment maintenance. A CMS-allowed program that adjusts maintenance from manufacturer recommendations based on risk and history.
AF: Atrial fibrillation. An irregular rhythm with no P waves.
AHA: American Heart Association. The organization behind CPR guidelines and the US ECG electrode color code.
ALARA: As low as reasonably achievable. The radiation safety principle: minimize dose with time, distance, and shielding.
ANSI: American National Standards Institute. The US body that accredits standards developers such as AAMI.
AP: Access point. The Wi-Fi radio that bridges wireless clients onto the wired network.
API: Application programming interface. The defined way one program talks to another, such as the web endpoints a cloud service exposes.
APIPA: Automatic Private IP Addressing. The 169.254.x.x address a host gives itself when it cannot reach a DHCP server.
ASME: American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The standards body for pressure vessels and boilers.
AV: Atrioventricular node. The relay between atria and ventricles that delays the impulse so the ventricles fill.
AWG: American Wire Gauge. The wire size scale; smaller numbers are thicker wire with higher ampacity.
BAA: Business associate agreement. The HIPAA contract a vendor signs before handling protected health information.
BF: Body floating (applied part). An applied part that touches the patient but not the heart, isolated from ground; stick-figure-in-a-box symbol.
BIOS: Basic Input/Output System. The original PC firmware: 16-bit, text setup, MBR disks up to 2 TB.
BiPAP: Bilevel positive airway pressure. Two pressure levels, higher on inhalation and lower on exhalation, for non-invasive ventilation.
BP: Blood pressure. The pressure in the arteries, systolic over diastolic, in mmHg.
C-ECHO: DICOM echo service. The DICOM ping that verifies two application entities can communicate.
CAP: College of American Pathologists. The organization that accredits clinical laboratories.
CBET: Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician. The AAMI credential for biomedical equipment technicians.
CDA: Clinical Document Architecture. HL7's XML standard for clinical documents such as discharge summaries.
CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The US public health agency that sets infection control guidance such as standard precautions.
CF: Cardiac floating (applied part). An applied part that may connect directly to the heart, with the strictest leakage limits; heart-in-a-box symbol.
CFR: Code of Federal Regulations. The codified US federal rules; 29 CFR 1910 holds OSHA standards, 21 CFR the FDA's.
CHIP: Children's Health Insurance Program. Federal and state health coverage for children, run by CMS.
CIA: Confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The three goals of security: keep data secret, keep it correct, keep it reachable.
CIHQ: Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality. A newer CMS-approved hospital accreditor.
CMMS: Computerized maintenance management system. The database that tracks equipment inventory, work orders, and preventive maintenance.
CMOS: Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor. The small battery-backed memory that keeps firmware settings and the clock.
CMRR: Common-mode rejection ratio. How well an amplifier cancels signals present on both inputs, such as 60 Hz interference.
CMS: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The federal agency whose Conditions of Participation hospitals must meet to be paid.
CO: Carbon monoxide. A toxic gas that binds hemoglobin and makes pulse oximeters read falsely high.
CO2: Carbon dioxide. The gas exhaled as the waste product of metabolism; measured by capnography, and the lasing medium of CO2 surgical lasers.
COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Long-term airway obstruction, usually from smoking, with a low FEV1/FVC ratio.
CPAP: Continuous positive airway pressure. A constant pressure applied to the airway of a spontaneously breathing patient.
CPR: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Chest compressions and breaths to keep blood moving during cardiac arrest.
CPU: Central processing unit. The processor that executes instructions.
CT: Computed tomography. Cross-sectional X-ray imaging from a rotating tube and detector array.
DAC: Digital-to-analog converter. Turns digital values back into a voltage to drive displays, speakers, or outputs.
dB: Decibel. A logarithmic ratio unit for signal levels, gain, and sound.
DBP: Diastolic blood pressure. The arterial pressure between beats, while the heart fills.
DC: Direct current. Current in one direction: batteries and power supply outputs.
DHCP: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. Hands out IP addresses, masks, gateways, and DNS servers automatically (UDP 67 and 68).
DICOM: Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine. The standard for medical image files and their network exchange, by convention on port 104.
DISS: Diameter Index Safety System. Gas-specific threaded fittings that make it impossible to connect the wrong gas hose.
dL: Deciliter. One tenth of a liter; lab values such as glucose in mg per dL.
DMCA: Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The 1998 copyright law that bans circumventing digital protections.
DMM: Digital multimeter. The handheld meter for voltage, current, resistance, and continuity.
DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid. The genetic material; sterilization kills microbes by destroying it.
DNS: Domain Name System. Translates names such as www.example.com into IP addresses (UDP 53, TCP 53 for zone transfers).
DNV: DNV Healthcare. An accrediting organization that surveys hospitals annually under its NIAHO program.
DOT: Department of Transportation. The US agency whose rules govern compressed gas cylinders.
DVM: Digital voltmeter. A meter for voltage; in practice the same instrument as a DMM.
ECG: Electrocardiogram. The recording of the heart's electrical activity: P wave, QRS complex, T wave.
ECRI: ECRI Institute. The independent organization that tests devices and publishes hazard alerts and the annual top-ten hazards list.
EDI: Electronic data interchange. Standardized electronic exchange of business documents such as claims and payments.
EEG: Electroencephalogram. The recording of the brain's electrical activity from scalp electrodes, in microvolts.
EHR: Electronic health record. The patient's longitudinal digital record, shared across providers.
EM: Electromagnetic. Electric and magnetic fields; EM interference disrupts monitors and telemetry.
EMG: Electromyogram. The recording of muscle electrical activity.
EMI: Electromagnetic interference. Noise from motors, power lines, fluorescent lights, and radios that corrupts signals on copper cable.
EMR: Electronic medical record. The hospital's clinical record system: orders, notes, results, medications.
EQ: AAMI EQ series. AAMI's equipment management standards: EQ56, EQ89, EQ93, EQ103.
EQ103: ANSI/AAMI EQ103. Guidance for alternative equipment maintenance programs.
EQ56: ANSI/AAMI EQ56. The recommended practice for a medical equipment management program.
EQ89: ANSI/AAMI EQ89. Guidance for scheduled maintenance and performance verification.
EQ93: ANSI/AAMI EQ93. The vocabulary of medical equipment management.
ESD: Electrostatic discharge. Static electricity that can destroy chips; prevented with a wrist strap, mat, and antistatic bags.
ESU: Electrosurgical unit. The generator that cuts and coagulates tissue with high-frequency current above about 100 kHz.
EtCO2: End-tidal carbon dioxide. The CO2 concentration at the end of exhalation, normally 35 to 45 mmHg, measured by capnography.
ETO: Ethylene oxide. A toxic gas used to sterilize heat-sensitive devices.
FDA: Food and Drug Administration. The US regulator of medical devices; classes I to III, recalls, and medical device reporting.
FDG: Fluorodeoxyglucose. The glucose-like radioactive tracer used in PET scans.
FEV1: Forced expiratory volume in one second. The volume exhaled in the first second of a forced breath out.
FHIR: Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources. HL7's web-style standard using REST APIs and JSON resources.
FHR: Fetal heart rate. The baby's heart rate, measured by ultrasound Doppler on a fetal monitor.
FiO2: Fraction of inspired oxygen. The oxygen concentration being delivered, from 0.21 (room air) to 1.0.
FSH: Follicle-stimulating hormone. The pituitary hormone that drives sperm production and egg development.
FVC: Forced vital capacity. The total volume a patient can exhale forcefully after a full breath in.
Gbps: Gigabits per second. Billions of bits per second; gigabit Ethernet is 1 Gbps.
GFCI: Ground-fault circuit interrupter. A receptacle or breaker that trips when current leaking to ground exceeds about 5 mA.
GHS: Globally Harmonized System. The international standard for chemical hazard labels and safety data sheets.
GHz: Gigahertz. Billions of cycles per second; CPU clock speed and Wi-Fi band frequency.
GI: Gastrointestinal. The digestive tract.
H2O: Water. The pressure unit centimeters of water (cmH2O) for airway and ventilator pressures.
HDD: Hard disk drive. Spinning magnetic storage: cheap per terabyte, slower, and fragile.
HFAP: Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program. The former osteopathic hospital accreditation program, now part of ACHC.
HHS: Department of Health and Human Services. The US department that enforces HIPAA through its Office for Civil Rights.
HIPAA: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The US law protecting health information; Title II holds the privacy and security rules.
HITECH: Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act. The 2009 law that funded EHR adoption and strengthened HIPAA enforcement and breach notification.
HITRUST: Health Information Trust Alliance. A certifiable security framework that combines HIPAA, NIST, and other requirements for healthcare.
HIV: Human immunodeficiency virus. A bloodborne virus; one of the pathogens the OSHA bloodborne pathogen standard addresses.
HL: Hearing level. The decibel scale audiometers use, referenced to normal hearing thresholds.
HL7: Health Level Seven. The messaging standard that connects clinical systems: version 2 pipes, version 3 XML, FHIR web APIs.
HR: Heart rate. Beats per minute, derived from the ECG or pulse.
HTTP: Hypertext Transfer Protocol. Web traffic in the clear on TCP 80.
HTTPS: Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. HTTP inside TLS on TCP 443.
HV: High voltage. The kilovolt sections of X-ray generators, defibrillators, and ESUs.
HVAC: Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. The building's climate systems, which keep server rooms cool and are themselves networked controls.
Hz: Hertz. Cycles per second; display refresh rate, AC mains frequency, and signal frequency.
IaaS: Infrastructure as a service. The provider supplies virtual machines, storage, and networks; you manage the operating system and up.
IABP: Intra-aortic balloon pump. A balloon in the aorta that inflates in diastole and deflates in systole to support the heart.
IARC: International Agency for Research on Cancer. The WHO body that classifies carcinogens.
IBP: Invasive blood pressure. Pressure measured directly through an arterial line and a transducer.
IC: Integrated circuit. A chip: many transistors on one piece of silicon.
ICMP: Internet Control Message Protocol. The protocol behind ping and traceroute.
ICU: Intensive care unit. The critical care area with the highest density of monitors, ventilators, and pumps.
ID: Identification. A patient identifier or a device identifier.
IEC: International Electrotechnical Commission. The international standards body; IEC 60601-1 is the medical electrical equipment safety standard.
IEEE: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The engineering body behind Ethernet (802.3), Wi-Fi (802.11), and many device standards.
IP: Internet Protocol. The Layer 3 protocol that addresses and routes packets between networks.
IPv4: Internet Protocol version 4. 32-bit addresses written as four decimal octets, such as 192.168.1.10.
IPv6: Internet Protocol version 6. 128-bit addresses in eight hex groups; no broadcast, built-in autoconfiguration.
ISO: International Organization for Standardization; also an ISO disc image. The standards body, and the .iso file format that holds a complete disc image.
IT: Information technology. Computers, networks, and the people who run them.
IUPC: Intrauterine pressure catheter. A catheter that measures contraction pressure directly.
IV: Intravenous. Into a vein; IV lines, pumps, and fluids.
KCL: Kirchhoff's current law. Current into a node equals current out.
kHz: Kilohertz. One thousand cycles per second.
kV: Kilovolt. One thousand volts; X-ray tube voltage and defibrillator charge levels.
KVL: Kirchhoff's voltage law. The voltages around any closed loop sum to zero.
KVM: Keyboard, video, mouse (switch). One keyboard, monitor, and mouse shared among several computers.
KVO: Keep vein open. A very low infusion rate that keeps an IV line from clotting.
kW: Kilowatt. One thousand watts of power.
kWh: Kilowatt-hour. The energy unit on the electric bill: one kilowatt for one hour.
LA: Left arm electrode (also left atrium). The black ECG electrode on the left arm; in heart anatomy, the left atrium.
LAN: Local area network. One site's network: a building, floor, or campus that one organization owns and runs.
LC50: Lethal concentration 50 percent. The airborne concentration lethal to half of test subjects.
LCD: Liquid crystal display. The flat panel that shapes light from a backlight into an image; TN, IPS, and VA are the panel types.
LD50: Lethal dose 50 percent. The dose that kills half of test subjects.
LED: Light-emitting diode. A small light source: the status lights on a port, the lamp in cheap fiber transmitters, and modern display backlights.
LH: Luteinizing hormone. The pituitary hormone that drives testosterone and triggers ovulation.
LIM: Line isolation monitor. Continuously measures how much current a fault could drive from an isolated power system to ground and alarms at 5 mA.
LIMS: Laboratory information management system. Sample and workflow tracking software for laboratories.
LIS: Laboratory information system. The software that manages lab orders, analyzer results, and reporting.
LL: Left leg electrode. The red ECG electrode on the left leg.
LV: Left ventricle. The chamber that pumps blood to the body at systemic pressure.
LVP: Large-volume pump. An infusion pump for bags of fluid, usually peristaltic, accurate to about 5 percent.
mA: Milliampere. One thousandth of an ampere; the unit for shock thresholds and leakage currents.
MAC: Media access control (address). The 48-bit hardware address burned into a network interface, used at Layer 2.
MAP: Mean arterial pressure. The average arterial pressure: diastolic plus one third of the pulse pressure.
MDDS: Medical device data system. Software or hardware that transfers, stores, or displays device data without changing it.
MDS2: Manufacturer Disclosure Statement for Medical Device Security. The standard form describing a device's security capabilities.
MFA: Multi-factor authentication. Two or more different kinds of proof of identity.
MHz: Megahertz. Millions of cycles per second; memory speed, radio channels, and older CPU clocks.
mL: Milliliter. One thousandth of a liter; tidal volumes, drug doses, and infusion rates in mL per hour.
mmHg: Millimeters of mercury. The pressure unit for blood pressure, gas pressures, and vacuum.
MR: Magnetic resonance. The MRI environment; equipment is labeled MR Safe, MR Conditional, or MR Unsafe.
MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging. Imaging with a strong magnet and radio pulses; no ionizing radiation, but the magnet is always on.
MRN: Medical record number. The hospital's unique identifier for a patient.
ms: Millisecond. One thousandth of a second; latency, pulse widths, and ECG timing.
MSH: Message header segment. The first segment of every HL7 version 2 message.
mV: Millivolt. One thousandth of a volt; ECG signals are about 1 mV.
NAT: Network address translation. Rewrites private inside addresses to a public address at the router so many hosts can share it.
NEC: National Electrical Code. The US wiring code, NFPA 70.
NESC: National Electrical Safety Code. The utility-side safety code for power lines and substations.
NFPA: National Fire Protection Association. The standards body for fire and electrical safety: NFPA 70 (NEC), NFPA 99 (health care facilities), NFPA 101 (life safety).
NIAHO: National Integrated Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations. DNV's hospital accreditation program.
NIBP: Non-invasive blood pressure. Automatic cuff measurement by the oscillometric method.
NIOSH: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The CDC's research arm for workplace safety, which publishes RELs.
NIST: National Institute of Standards and Technology. The US standards body whose cybersecurity framework hospitals use.
NPN: Negative-positive-negative transistor. A bipolar transistor that conducts when its base is pulled positive.
NPSG: National Patient Safety Goals. The Joint Commission's annual list of safety priorities, including alarm management.
NTC: Negative temperature coefficient (thermistor). A thermistor whose resistance falls as temperature rises; the sensor in patient temperature probes.
NTP: National Toxicology Program. The US program that publishes the Report on Carcinogens, one of the carcinogen listings cited on a safety data sheet. Also: Network Time Protocol. The protocol (UDP 123) that keeps device clocks synchronized so logs, alarms, and records line up.
OBR: Observation request segment. The HL7 segment describing the order a result answers.
OBX: Observation segment. The HL7 segment holding one observation and its value.
OCR: Office for Civil Rights. The HHS office that enforces HIPAA privacy and security rules.
OR: Operating room. The surgical suite, with isolated power, ESUs, anesthesia machines, and lasers.
ORM: Order message. The HL7 version 2 message that carries an order.
ORU: Observation result. The HL7 message that carries results, including vital signs from monitors.
OSHA: Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The US agency that sets workplace safety rules.
OSI: Open Systems Interconnection model. The seven-layer model for describing where a network function happens.
OX: Oxidizer (NFPA 704 symbol). The special hazard code in the white diamond for oxidizing materials.
PaaS: Platform as a service. The provider runs the platform (OS, runtime, database); you deploy code.
PACS: Picture archiving and communication system. The server that stores and distributes medical images using DICOM.
PASS: Pull, aim, squeeze, sweep. How to use a fire extinguisher.
PC: Personal computer. A desktop or laptop for one user.
PCA: Patient-controlled analgesia. An infusion pump that lets the patient self-dose pain medication within programmed limits.
PCB: Printed circuit board. The board that holds and connects a device's components.
PDCA: Plan, do, check, act. The continuous improvement cycle.
PEEP: Positive end-expiratory pressure. Pressure the ventilator keeps in the lungs at the end of exhalation so alveoli stay open.
PEL: Permissible exposure limit. OSHA's legal maximum exposure to a substance, averaged over a shift.
PET: Positron emission tomography. Nuclear imaging of metabolic activity using a positron-emitting tracer such as FDG.
pH: Potential of hydrogen. The acidity scale; blood is normally 7.35 to 7.45.
PHI: Protected health information. Any health information tied to an identifiable person.
PID: Patient identification segment. The HL7 segment carrying patient name, ID, and demographics.
PM: Preventive maintenance. Scheduled inspection and testing of equipment before it fails.
PNP: Positive-negative-positive transistor. A bipolar transistor that conducts when its base is pulled negative.
PoE: Power over Ethernet. Delivers DC power to devices over the data cable: 802.3af 15.4 W, 802.3at 30 W, 802.3bt 60 to 90 W.
PP: Pulse pressure. Systolic minus diastolic pressure.
PPE: Personal protective equipment. Gloves, gowns, masks, eye protection, and lead aprons.
PPP: Point-to-Point Protocol. The Layer 2 protocol for serial and dial-up links that carries IP with authentication.
PR: PR interval. The ECG interval from the start of the P wave to the start of the QRS, 0.12 to 0.20 seconds; the AV node delay.
psi: Pounds per square inch. The pressure unit for cylinders, sterilizers, and pneumatic systems.
PSU: Power supply unit. Converts wall AC to the DC voltages a computer needs: 12 V, 5 V, 3.3 V.
PSV: Pressure support ventilation. The ventilator boosts each spontaneous breath with a set pressure.
PT: Physical therapy. The rehabilitation department, whose equipment includes TENS units, stimulators, and therapeutic ultrasound.
QC: Quality control. Running known samples to verify an analyzer is reading correctly.
QRS: QRS complex. The sharp ECG spike of ventricular depolarization; normally under 0.12 seconds wide.
QT: QT interval. The ECG interval from the start of the QRS to the end of the T wave, under about 0.44 seconds.
RA: Right arm electrode (also right atrium). The white ECG electrode on the right arm; in heart anatomy, the right atrium.
RACE: Rescue, alarm, confine, extinguish or evacuate. The order of actions when a fire is discovered.
RADIUS: Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service. The AAA server behind Wi-Fi Enterprise, VPNs, and 802.1X; UDP 1812 and 1813.
RAID: Redundant array of independent disks. Combining disks for speed, capacity, or fault tolerance: 0 stripe, 1 mirror, 5 stripe with parity, 6 double parity, 10 mirrored stripes.
RAM: Random-access memory. The working memory that holds running programs and data; lost at power off.
RC: Resistor-capacitor (circuit). A resistor and capacitor together, whose time constant is R times C.
RCA: Root cause analysis. A structured investigation of what happened, why, and how to prevent it.
RCF: Relative centrifugal force. The g-force a centrifuge applies, which depends on speed and rotor radius.
REL: Recommended exposure limit. NIOSH's recommended exposure limit.
REM: Roentgen equivalent man. A unit of radiation dose equivalent, 100 rem equals 1 sievert.
RF: Radio frequency. Radio signals; the medium of Wi-Fi, cellular, and Bluetooth, and a source of interference and, in medicine, surgical energy.
RIS: Radiology information system. Scheduling, tracking, and reporting for imaging departments.
RJ45: Registered jack 45. The eight-pin plug on Ethernet twisted-pair cables (properly an 8P8C connector).
RL: Right leg electrode. The green ECG electrode on the right leg, the reference or driven ground.
RMS: Root mean square. The effective value of an AC voltage or current, the DC equivalent for heating; 120 V mains is RMS.
RPM: Revolutions per minute. Rotation speed: hard drive platters at 5400 or 7200, fans, and laboratory centrifuges.
RS-232: Recommended Standard 232 serial. The classic serial port: slow, simple, and still used for console access and legacy devices.
RTLS: Real-time location system. Tags and receivers that track equipment location inside the hospital.
RV: Right ventricle. The chamber that pumps blood to the lungs.
SA: Sinoatrial node. The heart's natural pacemaker in the right atrium.
SaaS: Software as a service. Complete applications delivered over the web, such as email and office suites.
SAT: Source address table. The switch's table of which MAC address lives on which port.
SBOM: Software bill of materials. A list of the software components inside a device.
SBP: Systolic blood pressure. The peak arterial pressure during ventricular contraction.
SCD: Sequential compression device. Inflatable leg sleeves that inflate in sequence to prevent blood clots.
SCR: Silicon-controlled rectifier. A thyristor that switches large currents on when triggered and stays on until current stops.
SDS: Safety data sheet. The document describing a chemical's hazards, handling, and first aid.
SIMV: Synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation. A ventilator mode that gives a set number of breaths synchronized with the patient's own efforts.
SMART: Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology. Hard drive self-diagnostics that warn before failure.
SMB: Server Message Block. Windows file and printer sharing on TCP 445.
SMDA: Safe Medical Devices Act. The 1990 law requiring hospitals to report device-related deaths and serious injuries to the FDA and manufacturer.
SMPS: Switch-mode power supply. A power supply that switches at high frequency to regulate voltage efficiently.
SpO2: Peripheral oxygen saturation. The percentage of hemoglobin carrying oxygen, measured by a pulse oximeter.
SSD: Solid-state drive. Flash storage with no moving parts: fast, silent, and shock resistant.
SSH: Secure Shell. Encrypted remote command-line access and file transfer on TCP 22; replaces Telnet and FTP.
ST: ST segment. The ECG segment between the QRS and the T wave, where injury and ischemia show as elevation or depression.
STEL: Short-term exposure limit. The maximum average exposure over a 15-minute period.
SVT: Supraventricular tachycardia. A fast, regular rhythm originating above the ventricles, with narrow QRS.
TC: Transport Canada. The Canadian counterpart of the DOT for cylinder rules.
TCP: Transmission Control Protocol. Reliable, ordered, connection-based transport: three-way handshake, acknowledgments, retransmission.
TDR: Time-domain reflectometer. A cable tester that finds the distance to a break from signal reflections.
TENS: Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. Low-level electrical pulses through skin electrodes for pain relief.
TLS: Transport Layer Security. The encryption layer under HTTPS and most secure protocols; use 1.2 or 1.3.
TLV: Threshold limit value. The ACGIH recommended exposure limit.
TOCO: Tocodynamometer. The pressure sensor on a fetal monitor that records uterine contractions.
TPN: Total parenteral nutrition. Complete nutrition delivered into a vein through an infusion pump.
TR: Telecommunications room. The wiring closet on each floor that serves nearby devices within the 90 m horizontal cable limit.
TV: Television. A display or broadcast receiver; smart TVs are IoT devices.
UDP: User Datagram Protocol. Connectionless, fast transport with no delivery guarantee; used for voice, video, DNS, DHCP.
UEFI: Unified Extensible Firmware Interface. Modern firmware that replaces BIOS: GPT disks, Secure Boot, mouse-driven setup.
UN: United Nations. The body whose Globally Harmonized System is the format hazard communication now uses.
UPS: Uninterruptible power supply. A battery unit that keeps equipment running through a power cut and conditions the power.
US: United States. The country; used for US standards, the 60 Hz mains frequency, and the AHA electrode color code.
USB: Universal Serial Bus. The standard port for peripherals, storage, and charging.
uV: Microvolt. One millionth of a volt; EEG signals are in microvolts.
UV: Ultraviolet. Light beyond violet, used for disinfection and in spectrophotometers, and absorbed by glass and plastic.
VA: Volt-ampere. The unit of apparent power, which a supply must deliver regardless of power factor.
VAR: Volt-ampere reactive. The unit of reactive power, which shuttles between source and load without doing work.
VF: Ventricular fibrillation. Chaotic ventricular activity with no output; the rhythm defibrillators treat.
VLAN: Virtual local area network. A logical LAN on a switch: ports in different VLANs are separate broadcast domains.
VM: Virtual machine. A complete computer running as software on a hypervisor.
VPN: Virtual private network. An encrypted tunnel across an untrusted network such as the internet.
VT: Ventricular tachycardia. A fast rhythm from the ventricles with wide QRS complexes; pulseless VT is shockable. Also: Tidal volume. The volume of one breath, set on a ventilator at about 6 to 8 mL per kilogram of ideal body weight.
WAN: Wide area network. Connects LANs across cities or countries, usually over links leased from a provider.
WEP: Wired Equivalent Privacy. The original Wi-Fi encryption, broken in minutes; never use it.
Wi-Fi: Wireless fidelity. The trade name for IEEE 802.11 wireless networking.
WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization. The UN agency for international copyright and patent treaties.
WLAN: Wireless local area network. A LAN delivered over Wi-Fi instead of cables.
WMTS: Wireless Medical Telemetry Service. The FCC-protected bands for patient telemetry: 608 to 614, 1395 to 1400, and 1427 to 1432 MHz.
WPA2: Wi-Fi Protected Access 2. Wi-Fi security using AES with CCMP; still common and acceptable.
WPA3: Wi-Fi Protected Access 3. The current Wi-Fi security standard: SAE in Personal mode, stronger encryption, protected management frames.
XML: Extensible Markup Language. A text format for structured data; HL7 version 3 and CDA use it.
YAG: Yttrium aluminum garnet (laser). The crystal in Nd:YAG lasers, which emit near-infrared light that penetrates tissue.
YSI: Yellow Springs Instruments (temperature probe standard). The company whose YSI 400 and YSI 700 thermistor curves became the standards for temperature probes.

The exam itself 10

Certifying body: AAMI Credentials Institute (ACI)
Questions: 165 multiple choice; 150 scored, 15 unscored pretest items mixed in
Time and rules: 3 hours, closed book, simple calculator allowed, no phones
Passing: Criterion-referenced cut score (modified Angoff), about 116 of 165 correct, roughly 70%
Healthcare Technology and Function: 30%
Healthcare Technology Problem Solving: 30%
Healthcare Information Technology: 17%
Public Safety in the Healthcare Facility: 10%
Anatomy and Physiology: 7%
Fundamentals of Electricity and Electronics: 6%

Anatomy and physiology 11

Skin layers: Epidermis (stratum basale at its base) over dermis over hypodermis (deepest); sebaceous glands oil, sweat glands cool, vitamin D made in skin
Muscle types: Skeletal striated voluntary; cardiac striated involuntary; smooth non-striated involuntary (organs, vessels, uterus, bladder)
Skeleton: 206 bones: 80 axial (skull, 33 vertebrae, ribs, sternum with manubrium and xiphoid, ossicles, hyoid) and 126 appendicular (scapula, clavicle, pelvis, humerus, radius, ulna, femur, patella, tibia, fibula)
Brain: Forebrain: cerebrum (frontal plans, parietal senses, occipital sees, temporal hears), thalamus relays, hypothalamus drives the pituitary. Midbrain relays vision and hearing. Hindbrain: cerebellum coordinates, pons relays, medulla runs breathing and heart rate. Brain stem = midbrain + pons + medulla
Nerves: Somatic voluntary; autonomic involuntary (sympathetic fight or flight, parasympathetic rest and digest); neurons signal by action potentials across synapses
Digestion in order: Mouth (amylase, lipase), esophagus (epiglottis, lower esophageal sphincter), stomach (pH 1.5 to 3.5, pyloric sphincter releases chyme), duodenum, jejunum, ileum, large intestine (reabsorbs water); liver makes bile, glycogen, urea; gallbladder stores bile; pancreas enzymes and insulin
Lymph and immunity: Lymph filtered in nodes (neck, armpits, groin); tonsils, thymus (T cells), spleen (cleans blood), Peyer's patches; the immune system avoids, detects, and eliminates infection
Endocrine: Hypothalamus and pituitary control; thyroid metabolism; parathyroid (posterior thyroid lobes) raises calcium; adrenal cortex cortisol, medulla epinephrine; islets insulin and glucagon; pineal rhythms; negative feedback stabilizes, positive amplifies; the pons secretes nothing
Kidney: Cortex, medulla, pelvis; nephron: glomerulus in Bowman's capsule (blood pressure drives filtration), tubules reabsorb and secrete; ureter, bladder, urethra
Reproduction: Testes, epididymis, vas deferens, prostate; FSH sperm, LH testosterone. Ovaries (estrogen, progesterone), fallopian tube (fertilization), uterus (implantation)
Blood terms: Hemoglobin carries oxygen; hematocrit is the red-cell fraction (about 45%); about 5 liters total; lymphocytes, neutrophils, monocytes, eosinophils, basophils

Electricity and electronics 30

Ohm's law: V = I x R; I = V / R; R = V / I
Power: P = V x I = I squared x R = V squared / R (watts)
Series resistance: R total = R1 + R2 + ... ; same current through each; voltages add
Parallel resistance: 1 / R total = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + ... ; two resistors: (R1 x R2) / (R1 + R2); same voltage across each; currents add
Kirchhoff: Currents into a node equal currents out; voltages around a loop sum to zero
AC values: RMS = 0.707 x peak; peak = 1.414 x RMS; peak-to-peak = 2 x peak; US mains 120 V RMS at 60 Hz (many countries 230 V at 50 Hz)
Transformer: V secondary / V primary = N secondary / N primary; step-down lowers voltage and raises current; isolation transformer 1:1
Capacitive reactance: Xc = 1 / (2 x pi x f x C); capacitors pass AC, block DC
Inductive reactance: XL = 2 x pi x f x L; inductors pass DC, oppose changes in current
RC time constant: tau = R x C; capacitor reaches 63% of full charge in one tau, about 99% in five
Frequency and period: f = 1 / T; 60 Hz has a period of 16.7 ms
Stored energy: E = one half x C x V squared (joules); how a defibrillator capacitor stores its charge
Energy: E = P x t; 60 W for 8 h = 0.48 kWh; kWh is energy, kW is power
Voltage divider: V across R1 = V source x R1 / R total (series); 120 V across 60 and 100 ohms puts 45 V on the 60
Current divider: I through a branch = I total x (1/R branch) / (sum of 1/R); the smallest resistance takes the most current
Kirchhoff's laws: KCL: current into a node equals current out (nodal analysis). KVL: voltages around a loop sum to zero (mesh analysis)
Internal resistance: (open-circuit voltage minus loaded voltage) / load current; 1.58 V to 1.46 V into 80 ohms = 6.58 ohms; rises with age
Wheatstone bridge: Balanced (no meter current) when R1 / R2 = R3 / R4; strain gauges and thermistors sit in bridges
Complex impedance: Z = R + jX; 40 mH at 60 Hz is about 15 ohms of reactance; an ideal 30 mH inductor at 60 Hz is 11.3j ohms
AC power: S squared = P squared + Q squared; P true (W), Q reactive (VAR), S apparent (VA); 180 W and 240 VAR give 300 VA; power factor = P / S
Op-amp gain: Inverting gain = R feedback / R input (gain 9 with 5 k in needs 45 k feedback); non-inverting = 1 + Rf / Rin
Transformer ratio: V primary / V secondary = N primary / N secondary; 240 V to 6,000 V is a 0.04 ratio
C-rate: Charge or discharge current relative to capacity; 60 kWh at 0.5 C = 30 kW
Cell voltages: Lead-acid 2.0 V, nickel-cadmium 1.2 V, nickel-metal hydride 1.2 V, lithium-ion 3.6 to 3.7 V, alkaline 1.5 V
Battery behavior: NiCd memory effect (condition with full cycles); Li-ion no memory but thermal runaway risk and must not over-discharge; sealed lead-acid sulfates if left discharged; capacity in amp-hours falls with age
UPS types: Standby (switches on loss), line-interactive (regulates voltage), online double-conversion (always on inverter, best protection)
Power problems: Sag or brownout (low voltage), surge (high), transient spike, noise, blackout; conditioners regulate and filter
Hospital essential electrical system (NFPA 99 and NFPA 70): Generator restores power within 10 seconds; branches: life safety, critical (patient care, red outlets), equipment; UPS bridges the gap for critical devices
Isolated power and LIM: Ungrounded secondary of an isolation transformer; line isolation monitor alarms at 5 mA total hazard current; used in wet procedure locations
GFCI: Trips at 4 to 6 mA of imbalance between hot and neutral in about 25 ms; wet locations

Electrical safety 23

1 mA: Threshold of perception (tingle)
5 mA: Accepted maximum harmless current
10 to 20 mA: Let-go threshold: muscles contract and the person cannot release
50 mA: Pain, possible fainting, respiratory arrest
100 to 300 mA: Ventricular fibrillation likely
6 A and above: Sustained heart contraction, burns, respiratory paralysis
Microshock: As little as 10 microamps delivered directly to the heart (through a catheter or pacing wire) can cause fibrillation
Ground (chassis to plug ground pin) resistance: 0.5 ohm maximum for patient-care equipment
Chassis (touch) leakage, cord-connected patient-care equipment: 500 microamps in current editions (older editions used 300 or 100 microamps; know the limit your facility cites)
Patient care vicinity: About 6 feet (1.8 m) beyond the bed or chair and 7.5 feet (2.3 m) above the floor
Line isolation monitor alarm: 5 mA total hazard current
GFCI trip: 4 to 6 mA (nominal 5 mA)
Hospital-grade receptacle: Green dot; test retention force, polarity, ground continuity
Relocatable power taps: Only where allowed, rated, and secured; never daisy-chained; no extension cords for patient care equipment
Relocatable power tap load: No more than 75% of the tap's rating (an AWG 10 tap rated 35 A carries at most 26 A); never daisy-chained
Prohibited: Three-to-two prong (cheater) adapters; tinned stranded wire ends under screw terminals; cords without strain relief; isolated-ground receptacles in the patient care vicinity
Patient room receptacles: At least 8 per general bed (more in critical care), non-locking, tamper-resistant; no minimum in bathrooms; OR receptacles single, duplex, or quadruplex with insulated grounds, locking or not
Household electronics: Allowed only outside the patient care vicinity unless double insulated; inspected before patient use; worn units removed
Gas cylinder storage: Unwrapped, secured upright, minus 7 to 52 C; oxidizers 20 ft from flammables (5 ft with sprinklers, none in a compliant cabinet); no smoking within 20 ft; not in tight enclosures; door warning for other positive-pressure gases
Medical gas systems: DOT/TC/ASME cylinders; gas-specific outlets, no adapters; redundant supply; alarms; labeled zone shutoff valves; inventory and inspection
Telecommunications rooms: No data outlet more than 90 m from its room; at least one per floor; each serves at most 20,000 sq ft; interior rooms in disaster areas
Nurse call: Carries device alarms, staff emergencies, code calls, patient requests; audible and visual annunciation; may forward to pagers
Touch current and clean agents: Touch current: chassis leakage reachable by a person via a path other than ground. Clean agents: nonconductive, residue-free extinguishants (nitrogen, CO2, noble gases, halocarbons)

Infection control, hazards, fire, gas, radiation, MRI, and standards 18

CMS: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; sets Conditions of Participation hospitals must meet to be paid; can survey directly
Deemed status: Accrediting organizations survey on CMS's behalf: The Joint Commission, DNV Healthcare, ACHC (formerly HFAP), CIHQ
The Joint Commission: Environment of Care and Emergency Management standards cover equipment inventory, maintenance strategies, testing, and documentation
FDA: Regulates devices; medical device reporting: user facilities report a device-related death to FDA and the manufacturer within 10 work days, a serious injury to the manufacturer within 10 work days; recalls Class I (serious harm), II (temporary harm), III (unlikely harm)
OSHA: Worker safety: hazard communication, bloodborne pathogens, PPE, electrical safety in the workplace
ANSI/AAMI EQ56: Recommended practice for a medical equipment management program
ANSI/AAMI EQ89: Guidance for scheduled maintenance and performance verification
ANSI/AAMI EQ93: Medical equipment management vocabulary and terminology
ANSI/AAMI EQ103: Alternative equipment maintenance (AEM) programs: how to justify and document maintenance strategies that differ from the manufacturer's
AEM rules (CMS): Allowed with documented risk assessment by qualified staff; not for imaging or radiologic equipment, lasers, or where the manufacturer or law requires otherwise; new equipment follows the manufacturer until history supports a change
CMMS: Computerized maintenance management system: inventory and asset tags, work orders, PM schedules, equipment history, parts, reports (PM completion rate, mean time between failures, cost); every activity documented there
After an incident: Remove the device with all accessories and disposables attached, do not clear logs or settings, tag and sequester, document, report; root cause analysis asks why repeatedly
Joint Commission programs: Accredits and certifies by peer survey; publishes National Patient Safety Goals yearly; links quality and risk management; does not set financial benefits
DNV: Accredits hospitals under NIAHO, integrating CMS Conditions of Participation with ISO 9001; annual surveys
ISO 9000 / 9001: Quality management standards; plan-do-check-act; risk-based thinking; customer focus, leadership, process approach
CMS programs: Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP; regulates human laboratory testing; publishes yearly core measure sets (clinical quality measures); fights fraud; does not accredit
CAP: College of American Pathologists: nonprofit accreditor of clinical laboratories under CMS authority; inspections every two years plus unannounced
SMDA: Safe Medical Devices Act (1990, amended 1992): user facilities report device-related deaths to FDA and manufacturer, serious injuries to the manufacturer; annual summaries

Physiological monitoring 23

Einthoven's triangle: Lead I = LA minus RA; Lead II = LL minus RA; Lead III = LL minus LA; Einthoven's law: Lead II = Lead I + Lead III
Augmented and chest leads: aVR, aVL, aVF from the limb electrodes; V1 to V6 across the chest; 12 leads from 10 electrodes
Electrode colors (US, AHA): RA white, LA black, RL green (ground), LL red, V brown ("white on right, smoke over fire")
Bandwidth: Monitoring mode 0.5 to 40 Hz; diagnostic mode 0.05 to 150 Hz
Interference: 60 Hz: bad electrode contact, unshielded leads, nearby equipment; wandering baseline: respiration or motion; spikes: muscle tremor or loose lead
Lead-off: High impedance detected on an electrode; check gel, skin prep, cable
Simulator test: Patient simulator provides rate, amplitude, and arrhythmias to verify the monitor
Rhythms on the strip: Sinus tachycardia fast regular; atrial (supraventricular) tachycardia rapid consistent narrow complexes; atrial fibrillation irregular with quivering waves, no P; ventricular tachycardia rapid WIDE QRS; ventricular fibrillation chaotic; asystole flat (check leads)
Lead views and counts: aVF's positive pole is the left leg; 12 leads from 10 electrodes (4 limb, 6 chest); IEC colors RA red, LA yellow, LL green, RL black differ from AHA; thermal print head tested by printing letters or diagonals; paper speeds 10, 12.5, 25, 50 mm/s test the drive
Korotkoff sounds: Auscultatory method: cuff above systolic, deflate; first sound (phase 1) is systolic, sounds muffle then disappear (phase 5) at diastolic; automated devices use oscillometry instead
NIBP method: Oscillometric: cuff inflates above systolic, deflates in steps, MAP is the point of maximum oscillation, systolic and diastolic derived
Cuff sizing: Bladder width about 40% of arm circumference, length about 80%; too small reads high, too large reads low
Invasive line: Transducer zeroed to atmosphere and leveled at the phlebostatic axis (fourth intercostal space, midaxillary line)
Dicrotic notch: The small dip on the downslope of the arterial waveform marking aortic valve closure; its absence suggests overdamping
Height error: 13.6 cm of water equals 10 mmHg; every 13.6 cm the transducer is off level changes the reading about 10 mmHg
Damping: Fast-flush (square wave) test: overdamped rounds the wave and reads low systolic; underdamped overshoots and reads high
Transducer sensitivity: 5 microvolts per volt per mmHg (industry standard)
Sphygmomanometer: Cuff, bulb, valve, manometer (mercury, aneroid, electronic), stethoscope; gauge not at zero: zeroing screw; unstable: movement or placement; reads high: cuff below the heart; reads low: cuff above the heart or an air leak (most common); invasive lines read continuously even when hypotensive
Pulse oximeter wavelengths: Red about 650 to 660 nm, infrared about 805 to 940 nm; oxyhemoglobin absorbs more infrared; ratio of pulsatile absorbances gives SpO2; high perfusion helps, low perfusion hurts
Errors: Carboxyhemoglobin reads falsely high; methemoglobin trends toward 85%; motion, low perfusion, nail polish, ambient light, dyes
Testing: SpO2 simulator or optical tester; check probe LED and detector, cable, and site
Capnography: Infrared absorption by CO2 (about 4.26 micrometers); mainstream sensor at the airway, sidestream samples through tubing (delay, water trap)
Capnogram: Baseline near zero, rapid rise, alveolar plateau, EtCO2 at end of plateau, drop on inspiration; loss of waveform means disconnect, apnea, or esophageal intubation

Test equipment and units of measure 22

Electrical safety analyzer: Ground resistance, chassis and patient lead leakage under normal and fault conditions
Patient (physiological) simulator: ECG rate, amplitude, arrhythmias, respiration, invasive pressure, temperature
SpO2 simulator: Saturation and pulse readings through the probe
NIBP simulator: Cuff pressures and oscillometric readings; leak test
Defibrillator analyzer: Delivered energy into 50 ohms, charge time, synchronization, pacing output
ESU analyzer: Output power into a load, leakage, return electrode monitoring
Gas flow and ventilator analyzer: Volume, flow, pressure, oxygen concentration
Infusion pump analyzer: Flow rate accuracy, occlusion pressure
DVM or DMM and meters: Voltage, current, resistance; oxygen analyzer, pressure meter, tachometer, light meter, sound level meter
Cable tracer or toner: Finds the far end of a network cable
What each analyzer does not do: Ventilator analyzer: flow, pressure, volume, O2, breath detection, no CO2 concentration. ESU analyzer: RMS power, crest factor, peak-to-peak voltage, RF leakage, REM thresholds, no handpiece continuity or chassis leakage (multimeter and safety analyzer). Defibrillator analyzer: energy, charge time, sync, not internal impedance. Simulator: no current. DVM: voltage only, draws a little current; DMM continuity = low resistance, unpowered
mmHg: Blood and gas pressure; 760 mmHg = 1 atmosphere; 1 mmHg = 1.36 cm H2O
cm H2O: Ventilator and airway pressures; 1 cm H2O = 0.74 mmHg
psi: Gas cylinders and pipelines; 14.7 psi = 1 atmosphere; 1 psi = 51.7 mmHg; 1 psi = 6.9 kPa
bar: 1 bar = 100 kPa = 14.5 psi = 750 mmHg, about 1 atmosphere
kPa: 1 kPa = 7.5 mmHg; 101.3 kPa = 1 atmosphere
Fahrenheit and Celsius: F = C x 1.8 + 32; C = (F minus 32) / 1.8; 37 C = 98.6 F; 0 C = 32 F; 100 C = 212 F
Joules: Energy: 1 J = 1 watt-second; defibrillator output
Lumens and lux: Lumens: total light output of a lamp; lux: lumens per square meter at the surface (surgical lights are rated in lux at 1 m)
Decibels: Sound level and audiometer hearing threshold (dB HL); 10 dB is a tenfold power ratio
Weight and length: 1 kg = 2.2 lb; 1 inch = 2.54 cm; 1 L = 1000 mL; 1 mL = 1 cc
Prefixes: kilo 10 to the 3, milli 10 to the minus 3, micro 10 to the minus 6, nano 10 to the minus 9

Diagnostic, infusion, therapeutic, and laboratory equipment 45

Otoscope, ophthalmoscope: Battery or wall-powered light and optics for ear and eye; check lamp, battery, charging contacts, specula
Audiometer: Hearing thresholds in dB HL at 250 to 8000 Hz; calibrate with a sound level meter and coupler; quiet room or booth
Spirometer: FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC ratio (normal about 0.7 to 0.8); calibrate with a 3 L syringe; filters and mouthpieces
Stress test system: Treadmill or bike with 12-lead ECG and NIBP; emergency stop; treadmill speed and grade calibration; defibrillator nearby
Scales: Calibrate with certified test weights; zero with the bed or chair empty; load cells
Ultrasound: Piezoelectric transducer sends and receives; 2 to 15 MHz; higher frequency, better resolution, less penetration; Doppler measures flow; gel removes air; transducer crystals crack if dropped
Otoscope parts: Handle, head, lamp with collar, magnifying lens, specula, insufflation port; no microphone; loose head cuts light off, worn fibers dim it
Ophthalmoscope: Views the fundus; lens disc, filters, mirror, condensing lens; clean with lens wipes, alcohol discolors
Audiogram: Threshold in dB versus frequency; air conduction (headphones) versus bone conduction (mastoid vibrator) separates sensorineural from conductive loss; creates tones, does not measure frequencies
Uroflow meter: Flow rate and volume of voiding (bladder emptying); funnel, beaker, transducer; wireless within about 3 m
Tympanic thermometer: Infrared from the eardrum onto a thermopile; probe covers; 30 minutes to settle; ambient 10 to 40 C; torn cover reads high, cracked lens or obstruction reads low
Endoscope: Fiber-optic or camera, cool light source, insufflation, irrigation, suction; leak test before immersion; no wireless in flexible scopes
Imaging: X-ray: electrons from a tungsten filament strike a tungsten anode; radiopaque bone is white. Fluoroscopy: live X-ray through an image intensifier. CT: rotating tube and detectors, computed slices. MRI: magnet aligns hydrogen, RF, realignment signal, no ionizing radiation, pacemakers contraindicated. PET: FDG tracer, positron annihilation, two gamma photons. Ultrasound Doppler: toward the probe = higher pitch
Large-volume pump: Peristaltic; accuracy typically within 5%; rate in mL/hr; free-flow protection; occlusion and air-in-line alarms; drug library
Syringe pump: Precise small volumes; syringe size must be recognized; start-up delay and siphoning risks
PCA pump: Patient button, bolus dose, lockout interval, hourly limit; locked to prevent tampering
Feeding (enteral) pump: Enteral-only connectors on purpose; lower accuracy acceptable
Contrast injector: Programmed volume and flow for imaging; pressure limit; air detection; heated syringe
Rate math: mL/hr = total mL / hours; drops per minute = (mL/hr x drop factor) / 60; percent error = (delivered minus set) / set x 100
Enteral versus parenteral: TPN by vein through a standard pump; enteral by rotary peristaltic head on wide tubing; low flow = empty bag, occlusion, drip chamber seated wrong or coated; no set = seating, wrong set, or bright light on the detector
Syringe pump settings: Must know the syringe diameter and brand; small volume, fine control; runs past empty = sensor, size setting, or multi-phase program, not low voltage
PCA settings: Bolus, lockout interval, maximum dose per hour or 4 hours, optional background; logged; locked; ignores requests = check settings first
Infusion modes: Continuous; intermittent (high-rate periods separated by low-rate intervals); bolus; secondary or piggyback; pressure infusers squeeze a bag and are not pumps
Infant incubator and warmer: Air and skin temperature servo control, humidity, oxygen; radiant warmer with skin probe; over-temperature alarms; phototherapy blue light about 425 to 475 nm
Patient temperature management: Hypo- and hyperthermia units circulate water through blankets or pads; water temperature limits about 4 to 42 C; check flow, leaks, temperature sensor
Aspiration (suction): Regulators in mmHg, continuous or intermittent; adult range about 80 to 120 mmHg; check filter, collection canister, tubing, vacuum source
Sequential compression device: Inflates leg sleeves in sequence to prevent clots; check pressures and cycle timing, hoses, sleeves
Physical therapy equipment: TENS and muscle stimulators, therapeutic ultrasound (1 to 3 MHz), diathermy, traction, continuous passive motion; output and timer verification
Radiant warmer versus incubator: Radiant: open bed, overhead heater, skin sensor servo, easy access, drafts and dehydration. Incubator: enclosed, air, humidity, oxygen control. Fluctuating temperature = sensor attachment
Ultrasound therapy: 1 to 3 MHz deep heat for pain and blood flow; needs gel and motion; head too cold is not detected; overheating shutdown = too little gel; slow warming = low drive voltage
Hypo/hyperthermia flow: Heating needs flow of about 1 L/min or more, correct limits, and a good element; poor heating and cooling with no leaks = insufficient flow
Aspirator parts: Vacuum pump, gauge or regulator, tubing, collection container with overflow float, hydrophobic bacterial filter; pulmonary, gastric, surgical; fading suction = leak or filter; sudden stop = fuse or overheated pump
SCD and bilirubin: SCD inflates distal (ankle) to proximal (thigh), holds seconds, rests about a minute; high pressure = sleeve too tight. Bilirubin light 360 to 520 nm, blue-green most effective, brighter, closer, more skin; bulb, ballast, fan filter
Centrifuge: Speed in RPM, force in RCF (g); balance opposite loads; lid interlock; verify speed with a tachometer and timer
Incubator: Temperature (often 37 C) and sometimes CO2 and humidity; verify with a reference thermometer; door seals
Rocker and shaker: Speed and tilt; motor and belt
Refrigerator and freezer: Blood and vaccine storage 2 to 8 C; freezers minus 20 or minus 80 C; continuous temperature logging and alarms; door gaskets and defrost
Microscope: Light source, objectives, focus; cleaning optics
Water bath: Gentle heating under 100 C with stirring; temperature control and uniformity via thermostat and heater; incubates microbial samples; not heating = setpoint or limit below ambient, or low water
Analyzers: Reagents, calibration, quality control samples, fluidics and clogs, temperature
Cryostat and microtome: Cryostat cuts frozen sections in a cold chamber (about minus 20 C); microtome cuts thin sections; blade safety, temperature, advance mechanism
Blood gas analyzer: Clark electrode pO2 (platinum cathode, silver anode, O2 membrane, current); glass electrode pH (voltage); Severinghaus electrode pCO2 (pH electrode behind a CO2 membrane in bicarbonate); too cold = thermistor; barcode = window
Spectrophotometer: Absorbance at selected wavelengths; tungsten lamp for visible, deuterium for UV; read a blank first; quartz cuvettes for UV; intermittent at all wavelengths = power cable
Hematocrit centrifuge: Packs red cells in capillary tubes at about 10,000 to 15,000 g; RCF rises with speed squared and radius
Microtome detail: Paraffin-embedded blocks; thickness depends on blade clamping, sharpness, clearance angle, cool block, slow steady stroke, no wax; cryostat frost = drafts or breath, splinter = too cold

Perioperative and life-support devices 21

Frequency (Electrosurgery fact): About 300 kHz to 3 MHz, above the frequency that stimulates nerves and muscle
Modes (Electrosurgery fact): Cut: continuous sine wave, vaporizes. Coag: interrupted or damped bursts, dries and seals. Blend mixes them
Monopolar (Electrosurgery fact): Current flows from the active electrode through the patient to a large return (dispersive) electrode; return electrode contact quality monitoring prevents burns
Bipolar (Electrosurgery fact): Current flows between the two tips of the forceps; no return pad needed
Burns (Electrosurgery fact): Poor return pad contact, pad on bony or hairy site, alternate paths through ECG electrodes or metal; capacitive coupling in laparoscopy
Video integration (Electrosurgery fact): Cameras, light sources, monitors, recording and routing systems; check cable, connector, light cable fibers, white balance
Waveform and faults (Electrosurgery fact): Cut = continuous sine, 100% duty cycle, monopolar; coag = pulsed or damped, low duty cycle, higher peak; on but no output = blown high-voltage fuse; will not turn on = cord, fuse, low-voltage supply, switch; footswitch dead = footswitch board then control board
Adult energy: Monophasic 360 J; biphasic 120 to 200 J (device specific); pediatric energies lower and weight based
Synchronized cardioversion: Shock timed to the R wave for an organized rhythm the clinician chooses to cardiovert; unsynchronized for VF and pulseless VT
Testing: Defibrillator analyzer with a 50 ohm load; check delivered energy, charge time, synchronization, pacing output; daily user checks
AED: Analyzes rhythm, advises shock only for VF and pulseless VT
External pacing: Demand mode paces only when intrinsic rate falls below the set rate; fixed mode paces regardless; output in mA; capture confirmed by QRS after each spike
Intra-aortic balloon pump: Balloon in the descending aorta inflates in diastole (raises coronary perfusion) and deflates just before systole (lowers afterload); timed to the ECG or arterial waveform; helium gas; alarms for timing, leak, and gas loss
Pacing routes: Transcutaneous: chest pads with gel, tens of mA, painful, fastest. Transvenous: lead through a vein (subclavian) into the right ventricle, low output. Epicardial: wires on the heart surface at surgery, no subclavian leads. External generators run on AC or battery
Tidal volume and minute volume (Ventilator and anesthesia): 6 to 8 mL/kg ideal body weight; minute volume = tidal volume x rate
Typical settings (Ventilator and anesthesia): Rate 12 to 20; I:E ratio 1:2; PEEP 5 cm H2O; FiO2 0.21 to 1.0
Modes (Ventilator and anesthesia): Volume control delivers a set volume; pressure control a set pressure; assist-control, SIMV, pressure support, CPAP; BiPAP has separate inspiratory and expiratory pressures
Alarms (Ventilator and anesthesia): High pressure: obstruction, kink, coughing, secretions. Low pressure or low volume: disconnect or leak. Apnea: no breath detected
Oxygen analyzer calibration (Ventilator and anesthesia): Room air 21% and 100% oxygen; galvanic cells wear out; concentrators deliver about 90 to 95%
Anesthesia machine (Ventilator and anesthesia): Pipeline (50 psi) and cylinder supply, flowmeters, agent-specific vaporizers (sevoflurane yellow, isoflurane purple, desflurane blue), hypoxic guard keeps oxygen at least 21 to 25%, oxygen flush, CO2 absorber, scavenging removes waste gas, pin index and DISS prevent misconnection; leak test before use
Anesthesia gas path (Ventilator and anesthesia): Supply (pipeline 50 psi, cylinders), regulators, flow controls and flowmeters, vaporizer (first section after the agent's flow control), common gas outlet, breathing circuit with CO2 absorber, ventilator, patient; scavenging removes waste

Problem solving and troubleshooting 33

Device dead, no power: Outlet, cord, plug, fuse, power switch, battery, power supply output
Runs on AC but not battery: Battery aged or not charging; charger circuit; battery connector
Intermittent reboot or errors: Failing power supply capacitors, loose connector, overheating
ECG shows 60 Hz noise: Electrode contact, gel, skin prep, lead cable shield, nearby equipment, ground
Wandering baseline: Patient movement or respiration, loose electrode, high-pass filter setting
Intermittent signal: Cable flex failure near connectors, loose connector, cracked solder
NIBP reads high: Cuff too small, cuff too low, patient movement, hose leak causing slow deflation
Arterial line reads low and rounded: Overdamped: air bubble, clot, kinked tubing, loose connection
SpO2 no reading: Probe placement, perfusion, ambient light, probe LED failure, cable
Ventilator high-pressure alarm: Kinked circuit, secretions, patient coughing, water in tubing
Ventilator low-pressure or volume alarm: Disconnect, leak, cuff leak, circuit crack
Infusion pump occlusion alarm: Kinked tubing, closed clamp, clotted line, set loaded wrong
Infusion pump air-in-line alarm: Air in set, sensor dirty, set not seated
Defibrillator low delivered energy: Capacitor aging, relay, paddles or pads, battery
ESU patient burn: Return electrode contact, alternate path, damaged cable
Telemetry dropouts on one patient: Transmitter battery, leads, distance; many patients: antenna system or receiver, a system-wide problem
Monitor not sending to the central station or EMR: One bed: cable, port, network config on that monitor. Every bed: switch, server, middleware, network outage
Centrifuge vibration: Unbalanced load, worn rotor or bearing
Refrigerator temperature alarm: Door seal, defrost cycle, compressor, probe, overloading
EtCO2 no value or occlusion: Cannula and tubing, filter present, moisture trap (occlusion test), internal leak (occlude upstream of filter and trap); occlusion: kink, clogged filter, full trap
Respiration rate missing, ECG fine: Input printed circuit board; flat or short trace: raise sensitivity, then electrodes, leads, cable
Blood gas analyzer will not run: Cable and outlet first; 'too cold' after warming = thermistor; no battery run = charger; barcode dead = window
Centrifuge rotor will not spin: Lid not closed firmly (interlock), then connections, board, motor
Microtome sections wrong thickness: Blade clamp, dull edge, clearance angle; compressed = dull, warm block, too fast, wax
Tympanic thermometer reads low: Obstruction or cracked lens (high = torn cover); rest 30 minutes; ambient 10 to 40 C
Enteral pump low flow versus no set: Low flow: empty bag, occlusion, drip chamber. No set: seating, wrong set, bright light
PCA ignores requests: Settings (lockout, maximum) before pendant or motor; 'check settings' = door locked before setup
Aspirator suction fades: Leak (tubing, container, vacuum line) or clogging filter; sudden stop = fuse or overheated pump; none = disconnected, blocked filter, full container
ESU on but no output: High-voltage supply fuse
Tourniquet pump runs constantly: Leak in tubing, cuff, or valves, or a bad pressure transducer; will not inflate = pump disconnected
Autoclave no steam: Water pump, low fluid pressure, breaker or overload, burned-out heater, low water; over-pressure = pressure switch
Bilirubin light dark or dim: Too hot to relight; bulb then ballast; dirty lens; overheating = fan filter, fans, thermistor
Device went to battery while plugged in: Outlet and power cable continuity first, then the internal power circuit; regulator: measure input and output pins to ground

Healthcare information technology 33

IPv4 address: Four numbers 0 to 255; subnet mask separates network and host; default gateway is the exit router; same subnet required to talk without a router
MAC address: 48-bit hardware address in 12 hex digits, burned into the network card; switches forward by MAC
Private ranges: 10.0.0.0/8; 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255; 192.168.0.0/16
DHCP and static: DHCP assigns addresses automatically; medical devices often use static addresses or DHCP reservations so they are always reachable
DNS: Names to addresses; ping by address works but by name fails means DNS
APIPA: 169.254.x.x means DHCP failed
Ports: HTTP 80, HTTPS 443, SSH 22, DICOM commonly 104 or 11112, HL7 commonly 2575 (site specific)
Devices: Switch connects devices in a LAN by MAC; router connects networks by IP; access point connects Wi-Fi clients; access point controller manages many APs; KVM switch shares one keyboard, video, and mouse among servers; virtual servers run many operating systems on one host; LAN is local, WAN spans sites, cloud is provider-hosted
Cabling: Cat 5e 1 Gbps, Cat 6A 10 Gbps, 100 m limit; fiber for longer runs; link light off means Layer 1; cable tracer finds the far end
Wi-Fi: 2.4 GHz longer range, channels 1, 6, 11; 5 GHz more channels, less interference; WPA2 or WPA3; enterprise mode uses 802.1X with RADIUS
Telemetry and RTLS: WMTS bands for patient telemetry; real-time location systems track equipment with RF, infrared, or ultrasound tags
OSI layers: 1 physical (media, hubs), 2 data link (frames, MAC, switches), 3 network (IP, routers), 4 transport (TCP/UDP, ports), 5 session, 6 presentation (format conversion, encryption), 7 application (APIs); no conversion layer
Topologies: Bus and ring fail on any break; star (central switch) survives one bad cable; hybrid; mesh partial or full; point-to-multipoint (central node also processes); physical versus logical
Binary masks: 255.255.255.240 = ...11110000 (/28, 16 addresses); 248 = 11111000; 252 = 11111100; ones must be contiguous; subnetting separates departments and limits broadcasts
Hub versus switch, PPP: Hub repeats to every port at layer 1, half duplex, collisions; switch keeps a source address table and forwards at layer 2, full duplex; PPP links two routers over serial or dial with authentication
ping: Is the address reachable, and how fast; ping the gateway first
ipconfig (Windows), ifconfig or ip (Linux): Show the device's address, mask, gateway; release and renew DHCP
tracert or traceroute: Every hop to a destination; where the path breaks
nslookup: Test name resolution
arp -a: IP to MAC table; duplicates
netstat: Open connections and listening ports
Cable tracer and tester: Find the far end; check pinout and continuity
TDR: Time-domain reflectometer: pulse reflection shows whether a cable is open and how far to the break
ping (ICMP): Echo request and reply, IPv4 and IPv6; reports round-trip ms, packet loss, min, max, average, deviation; not a cable resistance test; power cycling is not a test
Fiber inspection microscope: Checks connector ends for dirt and damage; clean with isopropyl alcohol and lint-free wipes or cut and repolish; light source and power meter measure loss
HL7 version 2: Text messages between systems: ADT (admit, discharge, transfer), ORM (orders), ORU (results, including device data)
HL7 FHIR: Modern web-based standard using resources and APIs
DICOM: Standard for medical images and their transfer; modality worklist pulls patient data to the device; PACS stores and serves images
EMR and EHR: Electronic medical record (within one organization) and electronic health record (across); devices feed vitals in directly or through middleware
Middleware: Translates and routes between devices and the EMR; device gateways; where most integration faults are diagnosed
Time synchronization: NTP keeps device clocks aligned so records and alarms line up
PACS, RIS, LIS, LIMS: PACS stores and transports images with patient data (redundant servers); RIS schedules, tracks, and reports radiology; LIS tracks specimens and analyzer results; LIMS is the research and high-volume version
DICOM and HL7 detail: DICOM is a 22-part standard for image format and transfer referencing IEC definitions; HL7 standards: version 2 messaging, version 3 XML, Clinical Document Architecture; HL7 does not set leakage limits or breach rules

Questions people ask

How many Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician CBET flashcards are there?

557: 288 Acronyms, 10 The exam itself, 11 Anatomy and physiology, 30 Electricity and electronics, 23 Electrical safety, 18 Infection control, hazards, fire, gas, radiation, MRI, and standards, 23 Physiological monitoring, 22 Test equipment and units of measure, 45 Diagnostic, infusion, therapeutic, and laboratory equipment, 21 Perioperative and life-support devices, 33 Problem solving and troubleshooting, 33 Healthcare information technology. They come from the course's cheat sheet and glossary, so what you drill is what the lessons teach.

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