BTC Technology Integration & Support 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A clinical alarm management committee asks a biomedical technician to reduce alarm fatigue. Which integration feature most directly addresses this goal?
- Increasing alarm volume thresholds
- Implementing alarm filtering and escalation via middleware integration (Correct answer)
- Removing secondary alarms from all devices
- Disabling non-critical device alerts
Correct answer: Implementing alarm filtering and escalation via middleware integration
Middleware integration with filtering and escalation routes only actionable alarms to clinicians, reducing nuisance alarms without silencing critical alerts.
Question 2: A hospital transitions from PACS to a cloud-based image management system. What is the primary biomedical technician concern regarding imaging device integration?
- Cloud storage cost per study
- DICOM conformance and secure transmission (TLS) to the cloud endpoint (Correct answer)
- Radiologist workstation monitor calibration
- Hospital Wi-Fi bandwidth for social media
Correct answer: DICOM conformance and secure transmission (TLS) to the cloud endpoint
DICOM conformance and TLS encryption ensure imaging devices can communicate securely and accurately with the cloud PACS endpoint.
Question 3: When assigning IP addresses to medical devices on a segmented clinical VLAN, which practice is recommended?
- Use DHCP with short lease times for all devices
- Assign DHCP reservations tied to device MAC addresses (Correct answer)
- Use public IP addresses to simplify remote access
- Share IP addresses between devices on different shifts
Correct answer: Assign DHCP reservations tied to device MAC addresses
DHCP reservations tied to MAC addresses ensure medical devices always receive the same IP, maintaining consistent integration mappings without full static configuration.
Question 4: A biomedical technician receives a security patch from a ventilator manufacturer. What must occur BEFORE applying the patch to devices in clinical use?
- Notify the FDA of the patch application
- Validate the patch in a test environment and obtain hospital IT sign-off (Correct answer)
- Apply the patch immediately to all devices simultaneously
- Wait 12 months for other hospitals to test it first
Correct answer: Validate the patch in a test environment and obtain hospital IT sign-off
Validation in a test environment and IT sign-off ensures the patch does not disrupt device function or network integration before clinical deployment.
Question 5: Which regulatory body requires medical device manufacturers to submit a premarket notification (510k) for significant software changes affecting device safety or effectiveness?
- Joint Commission
- FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) (Correct answer)
- CMS
- AAMI
Correct answer: FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH)
The FDA CDRH requires a new 510(k) submission when software changes substantially affect device safety or intended use.
Question 6: A telemetry system's central station is receiving duplicate patient waveforms. Which integration issue is most likely responsible?
- Duplicate patient ADT messages creating ghost entries (Correct answer)
- Faulty ECG lead cable on one transmitter
- Insufficient RAM on the central station server
- Excessive nurse call system traffic
Correct answer: Duplicate patient ADT messages creating ghost entries
Duplicate ADT (Admit/Discharge/Transfer) messages from the HIS can create ghost patient slots, causing the telemetry system to display waveforms twice.
Question 7: A biomedical technician is asked to support remote device monitoring across multiple facilities. Which technology enables centralized real-time monitoring of networked medical equipment?
- Bluetooth Low Energy mesh
- Biomedical Device Management Platform (BDMP) with SNMP or proprietary agents (Correct answer)
- USB over IP hubs
- Analog telephone modem relay
Correct answer: Biomedical Device Management Platform (BDMP) with SNMP or proprietary agents
A Biomedical Device Management Platform using SNMP or proprietary agents allows centralized real-time status monitoring of networked equipment across facilities.
BTC Technology Integration & Support 3
A clinical alarm management committee asks a biomedical technician to reduce alarm fatigue.
Which integration feature most directly addresses this goal?