Chemical Heat Packs as an Intervention to Prolong Ultrasound Battery Runtime.
Wilderness Environ Med
; 30(2): 186-190, 2019 Jun.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31056373
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Point-of-care ultrasonography is a burgeoning field of practice and study. Although point-of-care ultrasonography has started to penetrate the field of wilderness medicine, its use in cold environments is often limited by poor battery performance. In the current study, we investigated the effect of chemical foot warmers on battery runtime of handheld ultrasound machines in cold weather.METHODS:
This prospective study used a balanced, crossover randomization design to compare handheld ultrasound machines exposed to cold weather with and without the application of chemical foot warmers. Time to power off, ambient temperature, air humidity, and wind speed were recorded for each trial and compared in a mixed-effects model analysis of variance.RESULTS:
Ultrasound machines showed significantly decreased functional battery life with decreasing temperature (P<0.01) and increasing wind speed (P=0.01). Addition of the chemical foot warmer resulted in a statistically significant increase in handheld ultrasound machine runtime compared with controls (P<0.001). Overall machine runtime was increased by approximately 21.8 min (95% CI 16.2-27.3).CONCLUSIONS:
The application of chemical foot warmers to handheld ultrasound machines exposed to cold environments prolongs usable battery life and, consequently, may allow for extended scanning time in austere and remote environments.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Ultrassonografia
/
Temperatura Baixa
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
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Diagnostic_studies
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Observational_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Wilderness Environ Med
Assunto da revista:
SAUDE AMBIENTAL
Ano de publicação:
2019
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de publicação:
EEUU
/
ESTADOS UNIDOS
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ESTADOS UNIDOS DA AMERICA
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EUA
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UNITED STATES
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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US
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USA