Healthcare Technology Problem Solving

Question 1

A clinician contacts you regarding a defective monitor. It does not display the patient’s ECG waveform.
You check the device, it turns on, and the device self-check passes. Which of the follow could be a
cause for the defective operation?
a. The cable from the device to the patient is defective
b. The device is not plugged in
c. The power button does not activate the device
d. The device microprocessor is defective

Answer 1

a. The cable from the device to the patient is defective

Question 2

A bedside monitor displays an arterial blood pressure waveform that is damped and the readings are

inaccurate. Of the following choices, the likely cause might be that
a. The catheter has migrated out of position
b. The equipment is not leveled, zero-balanced or calibrated properly
c. Insufficient time was allowed for equipment to warm up
d. Air bubbles are present in the pressure line

Answer 2

d. Air bubbles are present in the pressure line

Question 3

A centrifuge has a very high leakage current (over 500 uA). Previous inspections showed worst case
leakage current less than 100 uA. The centrifuge appears to operate properly. The power cord is
inspected and passes. What would you suspect first?
a. Excessive carbon dust build-up inside centrifuge
b. Motor has shorted windings to ground
c. Poor insulation on wiring in unit
d. Power supply has shorted to ground

Answer 3

a. Excessive carbon dust build-up inside centrifuge

Question 4

A clinician in the ICU reports that “the respiration monitoring is not picking up.” Upon arrival at the
patient’s bedside, you see that the left leg (LL) ECG electrode has fallen off. You should recommend to
the patient’s nurse
a. That the left leg ECG electrode be replaced, and then check the respiration rate
b. That she uses CO2 monitoring as a more reliable respiration rate indicator
c. Nothing, because the ECG electrodes have nothing to do with respiration
d. That the right leg ECG electrode be replaced

Answer 4

a. That the left leg ECG electrode be replaced, and then check the respiration rate

Question 5

A common failure of an otoscope/ophthalmoscope unit is failure of incandescent bulbs. Which of the
following activities would significantly increase the reliability of the unit by reducing the probability of
this failure?
a. Have HTM personnel test the bulb more often
b. Have HTM personnel test the bulb less often
c. Store spare bulbs where they are accessible to users
d. Replace incandescent bulbs with LEDs

Answer 5

d. Replace incandescent bulbs with LEDs

Question 6

A Doppler ultrasound fetal monitor had its audio signal suddenly become noisy. Also, the computed
FHR became erratic. Transducer positioning and fetal monitor settings were not changed. Which of
the following is the most likely cause of the problem?
a. Power fuse in power entry module
b. Movement of fetus
c. Interference from the maternal heart rate
d. A broken ultrasound transducer

Answer 6

b. Movement of fetus

Question 7

A forced air warming device generates a high temperature alarm indicating that the temperature of air
being delivered into the warming blanket by the unit is higher than the setting on the panel. Which of
the following could account for that problem?
a. Faulty fan motor
b. Clogged air filter
c. Improperly adjusted or defective high temperature thermostat
d. Missing fan blades

Answer 7

c. Improperly adjusted or defective high temperature thermostat

Question 8

A hematocrit centrifuge has a problem. After starting to ramp up to the standard operating speed of
10,000 rpm, it shuts down at around 3,000 rpm. The samples are processed in a different centrifuge
without any problems. The most likely problem is
a. Faulty bearing(s)
b. Worn motor brushes
c. Unbalanced sample volumes
d. Malfunctioning vacuum pump

Answer 8

a. Faulty bearing(s)

Question 9

A newborn is not responding to bilirubin light treatment. The light intensity on the skin appears lower
than for other babies. But the spectral irradiance meets manufacturer’s specifications, and is similar to
other bililights. What might be the cause?
a. A defective power supply producing low power to the bulbs
b. Old bulbs in the light that are past their useful life
c. A dirty light cover
d. Light placement with respect to the patient

Answer 9

d. Light placement with respect to the patient

Question 10

A nurse has been charting a patient’s arterial blood pressure every 15 minutes. At 9:05 AM the
pressures were 124/86. At 9:20 AM the pressure monitor indicates 194/156. The BMET should ask the
nurse to
a. Adjust the alarms range to reflect the patient’s new blood pressure
b. Check that the transducer is level with the midaxillary line
c. Flush the line and recheck the display
d. Begin treatment for hypertension and notify the doctor immediately

Answer 10

b. Check that the transducer is level with the midaxillary line

Question 11

A nurse is concerned that an ECG cable is broken, but because of the expense associated with
replacing the cable, asks you to verify this is the case. Which of the following instruments might you
use to make this determination?
a. Ohmmeter
b. Wattmeter
c. Voltmeter
d. Ammeter

Answer 11

a. Ohmmeter

Question 12

A nurse reports a feeding pump he is using is inaccurate. He started a 1200 ml bag at the beginning of
his 12 hour shift and set the pump to run at 100 ml/hour. At the end of the shift, there was still 100 ml
left in the bag. What should the BMET do?
a. Explain to the nurse that the feeding pump is operating within its specifications, so nothing
needs to be done
b. Test the pump’s flow accuracy
c. Recalibrate the pump to 5%, the same as medication infusion pumps
d. Send the pump to the manufacturer for re-calibration

Answer 12

b. Test the pump’s flow accuracy

Question 13

A nurse reports that an automated vital signs monitor is displaying lower-than-expected blood
pressure values. A likely cause is
a. Kinked or occluded tubing
b. A leak in the tubing or cuff
c. Using a cuff that is too large
d. Patient movement, shivering, or convulsions

Answer 13

c. Using a cuff that is too large

Question 14

A patient monitor in the ambulatory care area is not detecting a patient’s heart rate, and the trace is
very small. What are the most likely causes of the problem?
a. Dried out electrodes or poor skin preparation
b. The amplifier gain is set too low, so the monitor is not detecting the R waves
c. The patient has a low cardiac output
d. The monitor is defective

Answer 14

a. Dried out electrodes or poor skin preparation

Question 15

A patient was injured during joint surgery where a pneumatic tourniquet was used. The surgeon thinks
nerve damage was caused by extremely high cuff pressure. How would you verify the operation of
tourniquet’s cuff high pressure limit valve?
a. Perform a full electrical safety test
b. Plug the cuff into the wall air source connection and see when it blows up
c. Check the device on your arm to see if the cuff inflates to a value only slightly above your
normal systolic pressure
d. Set the pressure to the maximum setting then use a squeeze bulb to slowly increase the
pressure in the cuff until the relief valve is triggered

Answer 15

d. Set the pressure to the maximum setting then use a squeeze bulb to slowly increase the
pressure in the cuff until the relief valve is triggered

Question 16

A patient-controlled analgesia pump is reported to not properly activate a bolus dose delivery when
the patient hand control is pressed. The continuous delivery functions work normally. Which of the
following is the most likely cause?
a. The device has not been unlocked for use
b. The patient hand control cable is broken
c. The syringe has become dislodged
d. The microprocessor has failed

Answer 16

b. The patient hand control cable is broken

Question 17

A physical therapist complained that the therapeutic ultrasound machine she was using worked well
for an underwater treatment, but not when it was used in direct contact mode. Of the choices below,
which is the most likely cause?
a. Improper coupling between the ultrasound transducer and the treatment site
b. Output power amplifier problem
c. Control board problem
d. Transducer head was overheating in direct contact mode, but had adequate cooling in
underwater mode

Answer 17

a. Improper coupling between the ultrasound transducer and the treatment site

Question 18

A portable, battery-operated syringe pump was reported to have its infusion end early, but no alarms
were triggered. Which of the following could account for this problem?
a. Low battery
b. Use of wrong size syringe
c. Occlusion in tubing
d. Displacement of syringe

Answer 18

b. Use of wrong size syringe

Question 19

A senior lab tech says the photomultiplier tube in a spectrophotometer needs replacement. Your tests
show it is operating normally and within specification. Back in the lab, the tech reports that the
problem still exists. Which is the most likely fault?
a. The sample door is not properly sealed and is allowing ambient light into the sample chamber.
b. There is a nearby presence of a magnetic or electromagnetic field interfering with the
photomultiplier tube in the spectrophotometer
c. The photomultiplier tube has degraded and your testing was not done properly
d. Improper line voltage is being supplied to the lab

Answer 19

b. There is a nearby presence of a magnetic or electromagnetic field interfering with the
photomultiplier tube in the spectrophotometer

Question 20

A surgeon calls and states that the CO2 laser is firing and the beam is evident on the patient but it is
not firing on the patient where the laser beam displays. What is the most likely cause of the problem?
a. The laser power is out of calibration
b. The power supply is defective
c. The optics need cleaning and/or aligning
d. Improper grounding of laser

Answer 20

c. The optics need cleaning and/or aligning

Question 21

. An adult with a heart rate of 54 is brought to the emergency room. An external pacer using external
pads is set at a heart rate of 75, and a current of 20 milliamperes. There is no evidence of capture. A
likely cause is
a. The pacer rate needs to be set at a rate closer to the patient’s intrinsic rate
b. The pacer batteries are probably depleted
c. The output current needs to be increased further
d. The timing of the pacer with respect to the R-wave needs to be adjusted

Answer 21

c. The output current needs to be increased further

Question 22

An air/O2 blender is found to be out of calibration (producing 40% O2 when set for 80%). On opening
the blender, you see water inside, as well as corrosion of internal components. What is the most likely
reason to find water inside an air/O2 blender?
a. An IV bag probably dripped on the blender
b. Moisture in the house medical air line
c. Moisture traps at the O2 inlet of the blender not working
d. Blender was used in a high humidity environment

Answer 22

b. Moisture in the house medical air line

Question 23

Which of the following is a likely cause for a surgical tourniquet to not power up when the switch is
turned to the on position?
a. Dead battery
b. Unit out of calibration
c. Stuck inflation valve
d. Loose or leaky connectors

Answer 23

a. Dead battery

Question 24

You get a call from the EEG Department with a complaint of distorted EEG recordings. Which of the
following is the most likely cause of this issue?
a. Disk needs to be defragmented
b. The patient stayed awake during the procedure
c. Poor network connection
d. Improper electrode application

Answer 24

d. Improper electrode application

Question 25

A fetal monitor using an ultrasound transducer to detect fetal heart rate has no audio output, but the
FHR was is shown correctly on the monitor’s display and the printed strip. Which of the following is
likely to be the source of the problem?
a. Defective audio output circuit
b. Defective ultrasound signal transmission or reception circuits
c. Defective ultrasound transducer
d. Defective toco transducer

Answer 25

a. Defective audio output circuit