5. Monitoring equipment

Technology is used to monitor your body's condition by both GPs and hospitals.

Hospitals need to monitor a patient's vital signs to alert them of any problems they may have.

Here are some examples of monitoring equipment which is used:

Blood pressure monitor

This can take readings at preset intervals, anything from one minute to a few hours. Not only does it check a patient's blood pressure, it can also measure their pulse and respiration rate.

Electrocardiogram (ECG)

This measures electrical activity generated by the heart. It can be used for diagnosis to find out if a patient has had a heart attack.

It is also used for monitoring a patient who has had a heart attack or who doctors think might have one soon. It can give them an idea of whether there are problems with the patient's heart.

Blood Oxygen Monitor

It is critical that the level of oxygen in a patient's blood is kept stable. If it goes too low they might become confused and eventually suffer from brain damage.

If doctors are concerned that a patient has a condition which might lead to low blood oxygen levels they can attach a monitor to the patient's finger which measures the amount of oxygen being carried in the capillaries.

There are many other examples of equipment which is used for monitoring a patient's condition. See if you can find out about a few others for yourself.