Thermometers and their types -- Health articles

What is a Thermometer?

Non-contact Infrared
Thermometer

Thermometers measure temperature, by using materials that change in some way when they are heated or cooled. In a mercury or alcohol thermometer the liquid expands as it is heated and contracts when it is cooled, so the length of the liquid column is longer or shorter depending on the temperature. Modern thermometers are calibrated in standard temperature units such as Fahrenheit (used in the United States) or Celsius (used in Canada) and Kelvin (used mostly by scientists).

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Early History

Several inventors invented a version of the thermoscope at the same time. In 1593, Galileo Galilei invented a rudimentary water thermoscope, which for the first time, allowed temperature variations to be measured. Today, Galileo's inventioni is called the Galileo Thermometer, even though by definition it was really a thermoscope. It was a container filled with bulbs of varying mass, each with a temperature marking, the buoyancy of water changes with temperature, some of the bulbs sink while others float, the lowest bulb indicated what temperature it was.

In 1612, the Italian inventor Santorio Santorio became the first inventor to put a numerical scale on his thermoscope. It was perhaps the first crude clinical thermometer, as it was designed to be place in a patient's mouth for temperature taking. Both Galilei's and Santorio's instruments were not very accurate. In 1654, the first enclosed liquid-in-a-glass thermometer was invented by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand II. The Duke used alcohol as his liquid. However, it was still inaccurate and used no standardized scale.

Source Article: History of the Thermometer

Medical Equipments Asset for Doctors and Physicians

Main Article By Jame Anderson on December 21, 2012

Nowadays problems like heart attacks, breathlessness, high or low blood pressure have become quite common. Intake of improper diet and sedentary lifestyle are the major cause behind these diseases. Due to advancement in technology diagnosis and treatment of such diseases is not a major issue. Hospitals and diagnostic centers are so well equipped with latest medical equipments that the reason and extent of the ailment can be easily detected.

For instance, an EKG Machine (electrocardiogram machine) is an important device that helps monitor the activity of the heart and can help physicians diagnose and treat heart attacks. These equipments are expensive but play a vital role in clinics and private practices. This is the reason why used medical equipments that function at the same level as new machines are increasing in demand.

EKG machines can easily determine if a heart attack is occurring or has recently occurred. A patient experiencing heart attack symptoms such as pain in the chest, breathlessness, and nausea, is made to lie down on an examination table. In order to gather the information required by the machine to create a graph of the heart's activity, a number of electrodes are placed at various points on the body. An EKG machine measures the heart's activity by measuring the strength and the timing of the electrical signal that results in the heart muscles to squeeze and pump the blood throughout the body.

Besides EKG Machines other equipments such as Doppler and Spirometer are used to measure blood flow and volume of air exhaled and inhaled, respectively.

Basic types of medical equipment

Medical equipment (also known as armamentarium) is designed to aid in the diagnosis, monitoring or treatment of medical conditions.

There are several basic types:

• Diagnostic equipment includes medical imaging machines, used to aid in diagnosis. Examples are ultrasound and MRI machines, PET and CT scanners, and x-ray machines.
• Therapeutic equipment includes infusion pumps, medical lasers and LASIK surgical machines.
• Life support equipment is used to maintain a patient's bodily function. This includes medical ventilators, an aesthetic machines, heart-lung machines, ECMO, and dialysis machines.
• Medical monitors allow medical staff to measure a patient's medical state. Monitors may measure patient vital signs and other parameters including ECG, EEG, blood pressure, and dissolved gases in the blood.
• Medical laboratory equipment automates or helps analyze blood, urine and genes.
• Diagnostic Medical Equipment may also be used in the home for certain purposes, e.g. for the control of diabetes mellitus

A biomedical equipment technician (BMET) is a vital component of the healthcare delivery system. Employed primarily by hospitals, BMETs are the people responsible for maintaining a facility's medical equipment.

Read more from : Wikipedia