Equipment Maintenance and Troubleshooting Flashcards

A ventilator alarms 'low pressure' shortly after the patient was suctioned. What is the most likely cause?

Answer: Patient circuit disconnect or leak

A low-pressure alarm following suctioning typically indicates an accidental circuit disconnection or a loose connection that allowed air to escape.

Which maintenance schedule item is considered a 'time-based' preventive maintenance task?

Answer: Replacing an infusion pump battery every 2 years regardless of cycles

Time-based preventive maintenance replaces components on a fixed calendar interval regardless of use or condition, such as replacing a battery every two years.

An ECG monitor displays a wandering baseline. Which intervention should the biomedical technician perform first?

Answer: Check and improve electrode-to-skin contact

A wandering baseline is most commonly caused by poor electrode-to-skin contact due to dry gel, motion, or improper placement.

When performing electrical safety testing on patient care equipment, the ground wire resistance should typically not exceed:

Answer: 0.5 ohms

NFPA 99 and AAMI standards generally require that the resistance of the equipment ground (protective earth) conductor not exceed 0.5 ohms.

A defibrillator charges to 200 J but only delivers 150 J during a test discharge. The MOST likely cause is:

Answer: Capacitor energy leakage or degradation

A significant gap between stored and delivered energy typically indicates capacitor degradation, which causes energy to leak before discharge.

Which of the following best describes the purpose of a 'load test' on an uninterruptible power supply (UPS)?

Answer: Confirms the UPS can deliver rated output power for a specified duration

A load test applies rated or specified load to the UPS to verify it sustains output power for the required backup duration.

A pulse oximeter consistently reads 2% higher than co-oximeter arterial blood gas values. This type of error is called:

Answer: Systematic (bias) error

A consistent offset in one direction between a device's readings and a reference standard is defined as systematic error or bias.