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Neurovirtual Booth at FIME 2010 Tradeshow

Neurovirtual and Sleepvirtual participated in the FIME 2010 Tradeshow at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida August 11th -13th, 2010. FIME is the largest medical tradeshow in the United States, attracting buyers of medical equipment from around the world. Both the BWII PSG and BWII EEG were demonstrated at the show by Neurovirtual.

Buyers from Latin America, as well as Europe, China and India, visited our booth to receive information about our EEG and PSG products, see demonstrations of our software’s capabilities and to place orders for equipment. Several medical sales firms applied for the opportunity to distribute Neurovirtual’s products in their countries.

“It was another successful FIME show for Neurovirtual,” said Ed Faria, CEO of Neurovirtual. “Every year our booth and equipment at the FIME tradeshow generate excellent leads and several sales. This year was no exception.” Neurovirtual is looking forward to participating in FIME 2011.

BWII PSG & BWII EEG systems on display with exam software demos

This  tip comes by way of a third party. I was conducting a meeting last week with Sue Hoefs, hopefully she doesn’t mind the shout out but I like to give credit where it is due, and she suggested a tech tip that I had never heard of. She mentioned that she suggests to all her coworkers to keep a small container of baby power inside their hook up box to prevent “sticky wires”.

My first thought was ewwww, because I thought she was referring to wires that had not been cleaned properly. The expression on my face must have mirrored my thoughts, because she quickly explained that it was a preventive measure that helped the unhooking and cleanup process. She further explained that lightly coating the wires with a small amount of baby powder prevented wire tangling during the unhooking process by allowing them easily “slide” apart. Sue also told me that the baby powder provided a barrier that alleviated tape residue from building up on the wires, making easy the cleaning process.

Having never applied this technique to my hook up procedure, I am anxious to learn of its effectiveness. Please don’t hesitate to leave a reply in our newsroom (www.neurovirtualnews.com) upon reading this tech tip.

Legal Disclaimer:

The opinions/insights expressed herein do not reflect the opinions or policies of Neurovirtual/Sleepvirtual, nor do we endorse the authors opinions and suggestions in any way. The information on this Web site is provided by Neurovirtual/Sleepvirtual for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical care, and medical advice and services are not being offered.

If you have, or suspect you have, a health problem you should consult your physician.

Neurovirtual/Sleepvirtual provides links to other organizations as a service to our readers; Neurovirtual/Sleepvirtual is not responsible for information provided in other Web sites.

Neurovirtual’s distributer in Iran, Batis Porto Medical Technology (http://www.batisparto.com), exhibited information about both the BWII PSG and BWII EEG at the Exhibition. Both systems generated a great deal of interest by the doctors and other participants of the conference.

To receive more information about the BWII PSG and BWII EEG in Iran, please contact Batis Porto Medical Technology at (21) 8898-3391.

Pictures from the event!

The staff

Interested attendees

Product info

The booth

By Michael Miller, RPSGT

Artifact can be defined as an unwanted signal interfering with a channel on a PSG or EEG exam. One of the most prevalent and menacing artifacts most often observed is EKG artifact. EKG artifact is classified by an EKG waveform appearing in channels other than the actual EKG channel. EKG artifact is usually caused by a lead or electrode being place on a site where the patients pulse is evident. The picture below is an example of EKG artifact interfering with a PSG exam:

A simple correction for this problem to move the affected lead(s) or electrode(s) to a less affected site on the patient where the pulse is not as apparent. For example, if you are experiencing EKG artifact throughout the entire EEG portion of the record then move your reference electrodes (M1 and M2) to a more desirable location. The boney projection directly behind the patient’s ear is optimal.

Although EKG artifact does not inhibit scoring and review capabilities, it is a bit of a nuisance that interpreting physicians and scoring technologist would prefer to have eliminated when performing their duties. If EKG artifact correction is done prior to the lights out portion of the exam then it is best in order to avoid disturbing the patient during the actual acquisition.

Legal Disclaimer:
The opinions/insights expressed herein do not reflect the opinions or policies of Neurovirtual/Sleepvirtual, nor do we endorse the author’s opinions and suggestions in any way. The information on this Web site is provided by Neurovirtual/Sleepvirtual for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical care, and medical advice and services are not being offered.

If you have, or suspect you have, a health problem you should consult your physician.

Neurovirtual/Sleepvirtual provides links to other organizations as a service to our readers; Neurovirtual/Sleepvirtual is not responsible for information provided in other Web sites.

After a recent conversation with a colleague, who is a technical support specialist, I felt that this week’s tech tip of the week should be focused on the topic of troubleshooting. I asked to him to give me a percentage value for the usual type of technical support calls that he receives. His response was surprising to me. He informed me that 10% of technical support phone calls that he receives were related to sensor failures, 10% were associated to computer problems, 10% were linked to legitimate system software issues, 10% were connected to actual hardware malfunctions, and 60% of the calls that he fields were correlated with user error. I asked him to elaborate on the user error calls that made up more than half of his of his work load. He further explained that a majority of these calls came from new users of the equipment which was to be expected during the acclimation period of a new system.

Based on the above percentages of technical support calls received, I have 5 suggestions that may aid in troubleshooting your sleep system.

1. Inspect your patient sensors prior to hook up. If there are any signs of damage to the sensor replace it and inform your lab manager. Most sensors carry a 12 month warranty and can be replaced free of charge if they have not been abused.

2. Check your computer settings and run regularly scheduled antivirus scans. The majority of computer problems can be prevented by adhering to out of the box specification requirements and eliminating spyware and malware that can infiltrate our computers while online.

3. Check your systems software settings prior to beginning a study. Most likely you’re not the only person with access to your computer. An interpreting physician or daytime technologist may have manipulated software settings that may influence the integrity of your signal.

4. Inspect your hardware components prior to starting a study. Make sure that all cables, wires, and connectors are intact and appear to be in good working order. Inadvertently a member of housekeeping may have accidentally unplugged an essential cable that is required for the operation of the system.

5. Refer to the HELP toolbar or user manual for basic system functions. More often than not these sources of information are extremely helpful and can reduce the amount of time that you may spend on the phone with technical support staff.

These simple suggestions can be used merely as first points of reference when experiencing technical problems. Official product and technical support staff are always on hand and available 24/7 to assist at your convenience.

[Editor's Note: This article is cross-posted from www.sleepvirtualnews.com]

Legal Disclaimer: The opinions/insights expressed herein do not reflect the opinions or policies of Neurovirtual/Sleepvirtual, nor do we endorse the authors opinions and suggestions in any way. The information on this Web site is provided by Neurovirtual/Sleepvirtual for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical care, and medical advice and services are not being offered.

If you have, or suspect you have, a health problem you should consult your physician.

Neurovirtual/Sleepvirtual provides links to other organizations as a service to our readers; Neurovirtual/Sleepvirtual is not responsible for information provided in other Web sites.

Fill out our online form at: http://www.neurovirtual.com/referral. Make sure that the company knows that you referred them to us, so that you get credit if they make a purchase.

Some simple rules to live by:

1.    You must have some form of contact with this company; no picking companies out of the phone book, internet, etc. They must be able to confirm that you recommended our products to them.

2.    Only one $200 VISA Gift Card will be given per company referred.

3.    This offer is valid only for companies who become new Neurovirtual and Sleepvirtual customers, and is not valid for referrals for current clients of Neurovirtual and Sleepvirtual.

4.    Winner is solely responsible for any tax liability for the $200 VISA Gift Card.

5.    In the case of multiple referrals of the same new client, the person who submitted the earliest referral will receive the $200 VISA Gift Card.

6.    The card will be sent thirty days after the sales contract is signed and payment is received from the new customer.

7.    And, obviously: Void Where Prohibited By Law.

We will never share, sell, or rent individual personal information with anyone without your advance permission or unless ordered by a court of law. Information submitted to us is only available to employees managing this information for purposes of contacting you or sending you information based on your request and to contracted service providers for purposes of providing services relating to our communications with you.

Neurovirtual sold a routine EEG (Model: Neurovirtual BWII EEG) at Maria Parham Hospital last year and the level of the satisfaction of the hospital is incredibly high.

An interview with Jon Clark, Director of Respiratory Services, conducted by Michael Miller in February 2010 is a must see, and shows how Neurovirtual’s customers are delight with the high quality of its systems and affordable price the company offers on Neurology and Sleep Diagnostic Equipment.

The company started breaking in at the Hospital environment and so far the venture has been very successful.

Click to watch the Interview

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