Annual Scientific Meeting 2011

Venue: 
Tullamore Court Hotel
Tullamore
Ireland
Date/time: 
1 Oct 2011 - 9:30am

 

BEAI’s 2011 Annual Scientific Meeting, held in the Tullamore Court Hotel on 1 October, proved very popular with the biomedical engineering profession. The event was organised in association with the Biomedical Engineering Division of Engineers Ireland and endorsed by the IFMBE.
The BEAI were delighted to have MDI Medical on board as event sponsors.

Overcoming challenges
Garrison Gomez the sponsor’s guest speaker was, unfortunately, taken ill prior to the event. Paschal Gand of Welch Allyn attended in his place. Paschal is director of
integrated solutions with Welch Allyn and his presentation ‘Connected Medical Systems reaping the benefits and overcoming the challenges’ outlined some of the challenges encountered going from the world of unconnected devices to one of connected/integrated systems. In particular, he discussed the clinical benefits versus the biomedical/clinical engineering challenges for connected IV pumps, barcode scanners and low acuity vital signs monitors. He also unearthed some of the challenges faced from an industry perspective related to electronic medical records. Pashcal’s presentation led to an excellent discussion within the room,
confirming that interconnecting/integrated systems are very much a hot issue in the world of biomedical engineering.

Presentations
In his paper ‘ISO 13485 Medical Devices Quality Management Systems and distributor organisations’, Chris Grant, MDI Medical, looked at the rationale behind
implementing the ISO 13485 Quality Management System Standard within a distributor organisation. He looked at the regulatory responsibilities of the distributor as part of the medical device supply chain, and how ISO 13485 helps the distributor to meet and exceed these responsibilities. In her paper, ‘Air Transport Orientation’, Ann Bowden, National Neonatal Transport Programme, The Rotunda Hospital, explained that, for both logistical and clinical reasons, most neonatal /critical care transports in Ireland are best undertaken as road transfers. In some circumstances, however, air transport is the preferred option and she looked at the risks together with the logistical challenges of air transfers in/to/from Ireland. In ‘Non-Invasive Ventilation (NIV) in Paediatrics’, Jim Davenport, Our Lady’s Children Hospital,
Crumlin, explained that well structured NIV Protocol and a multidisciplinary approach allows for the use of NIV where stress is kept to a minimum and successful application is more likely. Ger Flynn, Biomedical Engineering Department, Cork University Hospital, gave a presentation on the work of the national medical device equipment management committee, which, over the last year, has developed the governance structure to assist in the establishment of medical device equipment management committees at regional and local level. Ger explained this is the first phase in the establishment of the uniform implementing of the best practices for the management of medical device and equipment as guided by the policy document.

Best presentation
The award for best presentation at the meeting went to Martin Hargrove, a perfusionist in Cork University Hospital. Martin’s presentation ‘Electrical failure during
cardiopulmonary bypass: An evaluation of incidence, causes, management and guidelines for preventative measures’ gave the audience an insight, from a clinical perspective, into the area of electrical failure during the most serious of surgeries. Martin reported that the incidence of electrical failure during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) has been recorded in approximately one per 1,000 cases. While the resultant morbidity and mortality is low, electrical failure is a lifethreatening
scenario in any theatre. Martin has worked in perfusion for the past 35 years and gave an overview of some experiences his has had with electrical failure during
CPB. These involved mains failure and generator shut down, mains failure and generator power surge, and failure of the uninterruptible power supply (UPS), which caused the protected sockets to shut down.

Showcase
The BEAI sees the ASM as a wonderful opportunity for young engineers to showcase the great projects they have participated on during the year. Eoghan Hayden from the National Maternity Hospital gave a very informative and expertly presented talk on ‘Neonatal total body cooling’. Eoghan described the processes involved when inducing therapeutic hypothermia in term infants as a treatment for birth asphyxia. During the procedure they aim to cool the brain to several degrees below the baseline temperature, with the intention of preventing continued neuronal loss that occurs in the days after brain injury.
The staff at St. James Hospital showcased some excellent posters, ranging in topics from energy efficiency, frequency oscillating ventilation to colour reproduction in endoscope systems. Jacinta O’Brien collected the prize of best poster presentation on behalf of her colleagues at St. James.

Profile
Another winner at the ASM was Frank Kelly of St. Vincent’s. Frank was awarded the prize for best article in the autumn edition of Spectrum. Frank’s article, entitled ‘Hale and Farewell’, gave an account of his career in biomedical engineering and profiled the great work he has done over the years for the BEAI. Frank stepped down as treasurer of the association in 2011 but remains on an executive committee member.
The BEAI would like to thank the sponsors of the 2011 event, MDI Medical. An event of this magnitude requires a strong partnership between the organising committee
and the sponsors. We have received fantastic feedback regarding the showcase of equipment that was on display and the professional approach taken by MDI. The BEAI look forward to the event in 2012 and the continued support of its members.

Many thanks to:

Sponsors:
Staff at MDI Medical

Presenters:
Paschal Gand, Welch Allyn, guest of MDI Medical.
Martin Hargrove, Chief Perfusionist, Cork University Hospital.
Peter Grainger, Chairman, TC10, ETCI. Jonathan Kidd, TC10, Independent Expert.
Chris Grant, MDI Medical.
Ann Bowden, National Neonatal Transport Programme Co-ordinator.
Jim Davenport, Our Lady’s Children Hospital, Crumlin.
Eoghan Hayden, National Maternity Hospital.
Ger Flynn, National Medical Device Equipment Management Committee.
Patrick Pentony, Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown.

Poster Presentations:
Dept. of Medical Physics & Bioengineering, St.James’s Hospital.
Frank Kelly, St.Vincent’s Healthcare Group.
Patrick Pentony and Ciaran Sharpe, James Connolly Hospital.
Clinical Engineering Department, Naas General Hospital.
Colin Hendrick, Pinewood Healthcare.

Chairs:
Sheila Knightly, Tullamore Hospital.
Michael Towey, Portiuncula Hospital.
Paddy McGowan, Letterkenny General Hospital.
 

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